… outlines strategic MoUs, drainage overhaul
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Lagos State Government on Friday has reaffirmed its commitment to overhauling the state’s waste management system by transitioning from a traditional “collect and dump” approach to a sustainable circular economy.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, gave the assurance during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.
He said Lagos now generates over 13,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily and must embrace innovation to transform waste into economic resources.
“In the last one year, our focus has been to ensure Lagos evolves into a megacity with sustainable waste processing, modernized landfill management, cleaner waterways, and structured sanitation systems,” Wahab said.
He revealed that the state had signed key Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with both local and international firms to power these initiatives.
Among them is a deal with the Dutch Harvest Waste Consortium for the development of a 60–80MW Waste-to-Energy plant at the Epe landfill, designed to process over 2,500 tonnes of waste daily into clean energy.
Another MoU with Lafarge Africa/Geocycle targets the treatment of non-recyclable combustible waste and its conversion into industrial energy, ensuring waste is diverted from landfill sites.
The commissioner also confirmed plans for a smelting plant to process electronic waste, positioning Lagos as a regional leader in e-waste recycling.
Wahab noted that the state had awarded contracts for over 300km of secondary drains and 70km of primary channels, while more than 666,000km of drains were cleaned or maintained between 2023 and 2025.
Key areas including Lagos Island, Agege, Alimosho, Surulere, and Epe have benefited from extensive de-flooding works.
“In a landmark move to tackle tidal flooding, Lagos has constructed a state-of-the-art pumping station at Ilubirin the first of its kind in Africa to redirect stormwater from the island into the lagoon,” Wahab announced.
The commissioner reteirated the enforcement of the ban on Styrofoam and Single Use Plastics (SUPs), which he said has already yielded environmental gains. Between January and April 2025, over 123 metric tonnes of Styrofoam were confiscated during enforcement operations.
He added, “To combat open defecation, the state is constructing 150 modern public toilets, with an additional 250 underway through Public-Private Partnerships under the WASH initiative.
“Enforcement campaigns, coordinated through the Environmental Enforcement Agency (KAI), led to the arrest of over 6,700 people for failure to use pedestrian bridges and 3,786 arrests of street traders and environmental defaulters.
“Anti-defecation squads were also deployed to blackspots such as Ojodu Berger and key interchanges like Ikeja and Iyana Iba.”
On climate resilience, Wahab said the government has scaled up tree planting through the “A Tree for Lagos” campaign, with a target of 50,000 new trees over two years. The state also expanded air quality monitoring and urban greening programmes to mitigate urban heat and pollution.
On water access, the Commissioner announced the revival of the 70MGD Adiyan II project, expected to supply clean water to over five million Lagosians by 2027. Additionally, the 2MGD Mosan Okunola plant was recommissioned in 2024, ending 25 years of water scarcity in the Baruwa-Abesan axis, while the Isashi waterworks has been fully rehabilitated.