Stop patronising unregulated cart pushers, Lagos Commissioner urges residents

Commissioner for the Environment, Tokunbo Wahab.

The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has warned residents against patronising unregulated cart pushers.

Wahab gave the warning in a statement posted via his official X page on Saturday, saying their activities often result in indiscriminate dumping on medians, roads and drainage channels, with grave consequences for the environment and flood management.

This followed the monthly environmental sanitation exercise held in the Festac area of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area, which was attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; his wife, Oluremi Hamzat; and other stakeholders.

The commissioner said the state was working to build a more efficient, sustainable and accountable waste management system, stressing that the informal, unregulated waste collection system being run by cart pushers undermines these efforts.

The statement read in part, “We must also discourage the patronage of unregulated cart pushers, whose activities often result in indiscriminate dumping on medians, roads and drainage channels, with serious consequences for the environment and flood management.”

Wahab linked residents’ willingness to pay for waste collection services to the quality and reliability of the services rendered by government-approved operators, noting that the ministry’s interventions were aimed at improving the system for all residents.

“We recognise that residents’ willingness to pay for waste collection is directly linked to the quality and reliability of the services provided. Our intervention is therefore focused on ensuring that the system works better for everyone,” he said.

He disclosed that the ministry was working round the clock to address challenges at landfills, dumpsites and critical waste collection points, while sustaining engagements with Private Sector Participation operators to improve service delivery across the state.

The commissioner insisted that keeping Lagos clean required a collective effort between government and residents, stating that government’s role in providing leadership, infrastructure and regulation could not substitute for individual responsibility.

“A cleaner Lagos requires a collective effort. Government will continue to provide the leadership, infrastructure and regulation needed, but residents must also take responsibility by properly disposing of their waste and keeping their surroundings clean, not only on sanitation days, but every day,” Wahab said.