…actions of few individuals are undermining our efforts – LAWMA
By Soffiyah Layole
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has strongly denied allegations of government inaction regarding the refuse piling up across the metropolis, insisting that the state is aggressively tackling the challenges hindering efficient waste collection.
In a reaction to the first part of this report, the Director of Public Affairs at LAWMA, Folashade Kadiri, maintained that the agency is actively addressing service disruptions, which are often traced to Private Sector Participants (PSPs).
To bridge the gap, she disclosed that the agency has intensified monitoring and enforcement while deploying intervention trucks daily to clear backlogs in critical areas such as Ikorodu, Igando, Mushin, Lagos Island, and Agege.
Earlier an investigation into communities including Oshodi, Igando–Ikotun, Ojo, and Ikorodu by NewsDirect reveals a complex web of blame, suggesting the crisis is indeed a shared failure rooted in infrastructure deficits, inconsistent enforcement, and widespread public misconduct.
In Oshodi, one of Lagos’s busiest commercial hubs, the reality is starkly divided. While LAWMA claims its trucks visit regularly, residents offer conflicting accounts. Some shop owners corroborated the agency’s stance, blaming the filth on human behaviour specifically, the habit of dumping refuse by the roadside late at night or early in the morning.
Conversely, other residents firmly pointed the finger at the government, citing a vacuum in service delivery. Many respondents in the investigated areas claimed that LAWMA trucks had not visited their neighbourhoods in over a year. In the absence of official operators, households have turned to informal cart pushers, who often exacerbate the pollution by dumping waste indiscriminately into canals, bushes, and along the roadside.
Speaking with NewsDirect, the LAWMA Spokesperson revealed that the Lagos State Government is currently recapitalising PSP operators, equipping them with new trucks to bolster service delivery.
She added that ongoing collaborations with local governments, market associations, community leaders, and Environmental Health Officers are being strengthened to curb indiscriminate dumping.
The authority also highlighted its consistent public sensitisation efforts, which include radio campaigns in multiple languages and door-to-door advocacy.
However, LAWMA placed a significant portion of the blame on resident behaviour. The agency noted that progress is frequently undermined by issues such as poor containerisation, the refusal of residents to patronise assigned PSP operators, reliance on outlawed cart pushers, and the nocturnal dumping of waste.
“Lagos is not dirty,” LAWMA maintained firmly. “It is the actions of a few recalcitrant individuals that undermine the efforts of the government and responsible citizens.”
The agency urged residents to properly bag their waste, embrace the recycling buy-back programme, and report underperforming PSPs via toll-free lines, warning that violators are being prosecuted in mobile courts.