Lagos To Become One Of The Cleanest Cities In The World – Ambode

Lagos To Become One Of The Cleanest Cities In The World – Ambode

The Lagos State Government on Friday expressed its commitment to the actualisation of its vision of making Lagos one of the cleanest cities in the world.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode disclosed this at a ceremony to mark the inauguration of Phase 1 of Visions-Cape Implementation in Lagos.

Visions-Cape is an environmental utility group taking over waste management in the state under a Public/Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement tagged: Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

He said that waste management in Lagos has become a big task due to the rising population, hence the need to introduce new operators with advanced technology to manage all types of wastes.

Ambode, who was represented by Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, said, “We have always believed in Visions-Cape and by the grace of God, Lagos is going to be one of the cleanest cities of the world’’.

The governor said that the desire to improve the sanitation in the state, in line with producing a friendlier environment for residents, is something that the inauguration of the CLI would actualize. “To carry out a reform is not easy and we did not want to leave anything to chance,’’ he said.

On the litigation with Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, also known as the Private Sector Participation (PSP) Operators, he said that the contractual agreement with the operators to manage waste expired in July 2016.

Ambode said that being in court should not hinder waste management, adding that the state government is ready to partner with the litigants and is working on achieving harmony with them.

“This occasion is to make sure our city is not dirty. There are about 350 PSP operators and we have 25 million Lagosians. Do we want to satisfy 350 to the detriment of 25 million people?’’ he asked.

The governor explained that 600 compactors were being sourced from various countries, adding that the state plans to have about 5,000 within the next five years.

He added that the existing transloading stations will be transformed into organized well-structured waste recycling systems.