After it was stopped for seven years, Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has given his approval to resume the monthly environmental sanitation program.
Tokunbo Wahab, the state’s commissioner of environment and water resources, verified that the governor would formally declare the reintroduction later this month.
In a 21-second video uploaded on Monday to the Lagos State environmental updates X feed, Wahab said the drill would pick back up in July.
Wahab stated in Yoruba, “The governor will personally make the announcement. Our governor and the State Executive Council have approved the reintroduction of the monthly sanitation exercise in Lagos state, beginning from this month.”
The decision was made in the midst of mounting worries over blocked drainage channels and trash-filled roadways that are exacerbating the city’s flooding problems.
In November 2016, the Lagos State administration called off the monthly sanitation exercise that was customarily held on the last Saturday of each month from 7 am to 10 am.
Former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s Commissioner of Information, Steve Ayorinde, clarified that the choice was made in an Executive Council meeting.
Ayorinde stated that limiting movement for three hours was no longer appropriate for a megacity like Lagos, leading to the cancellation of the experiment.
“A robust review of the environmental laws and procedures in the state in order to meet the present day challenges and to promote a clean and healthy environment” was the reason behind the government’s decision to cancel.