Lagos State residents have expressed excitement over the reintroduction of monthly environmental sanitation, saying it will curb indiscriminate waste disposal, reduce flooding, and restore cleanliness across the state.
The residents stated that they were willing to participate in the exercise to help restore Lagos’s cleanliness and reduce unpleasant odours, but noted that residents should be sensitised on daily sanitation practices rather than relying solely on the monthly exercise.
However, some residents raised concerns about how the exercise would be enforced. They warned that movement restrictions could be misused by law enforcement officials for extortion and emphasised the importance of pairing the initiative with re-education on proper waste disposal, rather than relying solely on monthly activities.
In exclusive interviews with PUNCH Healthwise, public health experts stated that the reintroduction is a welcome idea. However, they warned that monthly sanitation is insufficient without deeper structural interventions, including adequate waste collection infrastructure, functional drainage systems, and public toilets.
They noted that environmental sanitation should be a daily routine activity rather than a once-a-month exercise, adding that Lagos generates 10,000 to 13,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily, yet current collection capacity captures only 40 to 60 per cent of this volume.
The experts stated that while improved sanitation alone can reduce diarrhoeal disease incidence by 36 to 50 per cent, the exercise must be backed by structural reforms to achieve sustainable cleanliness.
On March 14, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, nearly a decade after it was suspended in the state.
He stated that the exercise would resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026, and would be held on the last Saturday of every month from 6:30am to 8:30am.
Wahab stated, “I am pleased to inform all Lagosians that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise will resume effective Saturday, 25th April 2026, holding on the last Saturday of every month from 6:30am to 8:30am. During this period, residents are enjoined to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in their frontages, and dispose of waste properly as a civic responsibility.”
The commissioner urged residents to view the initiative as a shared duty toward building a healthier city, stressing that the government would ensure strict compliance.
He stated, “This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and flood-resilient Lagos. And it shall be backed with the full enforcement weight of the Lagos State Government.”
However, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, criticised the reintroduction, stating that it restricts residents’ movement for three hours on the last Saturday of every month, describing the move as unconstitutional and contemptuous of a subsisting court judgment.
Falana stated that the policy was a relic of Nigeria’s military era and had no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law.
He stated, “The decision of the Lagos State Government to reintroduce the sanitation exercise where the movement of Lagos residents is restricted for three hours during the last Saturday of every month is a sad reminder of one of the primitive legacies of the defunct military junta in Nigeria.”
The senior advocate stated that the measure was unjustifiable, especially in light of the substantial budgetary allocation to environmental management in the state.
Also, a human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, called on the Lagos State Government to suspend the proposed resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, stating that restricting residents’ movement would violate an existing court order.
Adegboruwa stated that the policy had earlier been nullified by the Federal High Court in 2015 and that the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He stressed that the state government could not lawfully proceed with plans to revive the programme, urging Governor Sanwo-Olu to immediately suspend the planned resumption in respect of the rule of law and the authority of the court.
Despite the legal concerns, several Lagos residents expressed support for the reintroduction when PUNCH Healthwise spoke with them.
A resident of Lagos State in Shomolu, Imole Bankole, stated that the monthly sanitation should be reintroduced, noting that Lagos smells too much for it not to be brought back.
The project manager stated that she is excited and willing to participate in the exercise, adding that it would complement the great job the Lagos Waste Management Authority personnel already do.
On whether the exercise would reduce indiscriminate dumping of waste and increase the clearing of gutters to prevent flooding, Bankole stated, “This is a cultural thing rather than just expecting that monthly environmental sanitation would reduce this. There should be re-education about the indiscriminate dumping of waste in Lagos and across the country. Most Nigerians were culturally brought up to dispose of their trash in the gutters, hence the need for re-education.”
A Public Affairs Officer and Development Communication Specialist living in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state, Eletu Suliyat, stated that hearing about the reintroduction gladdened her heart, adding that she was genuinely very happy about the decision.
She stated that it is a collective responsibility and essential that she actively participates in her community, noting that the initiative will help restore the cleanliness Lagos was once known for.
Suliyat stated, “In recent times, people say Lagos stinks, and to some extent, this is due to the absence of regular sanitation. Reintroducing it will help reduce unpleasant odours and discourage indiscriminate dumping on the streets.”
The development communication specialist stated that the exercise will reduce litter to a certain extent, but there is also a need for stricter enforcement and penalties for those who dump refuse indiscriminately.
She added that there should be continuous public awareness on proper waste disposal methods and designated dumping locations, urging agencies like LAWMA to be more proactive in their operations.
On whether it will reduce indiscriminate waste dumping and improve gutter clearing to prevent flooding, Suliyat stated, “Yes, to some extent. However, there must be clear laws and strict enforcement. When people understand that there are consequences for improper waste disposal, they are more likely to comply and use the appropriate waste management systems provided.”
A Customer Support Specialist and Ikorodu resident, Fatimah Adegbite, stated that bringing back the monthly environmental sanitation is good, adding that it should not have stopped in the first place.
She stated that Lagos really needs unending cleanliness, noting that she will gladly participate in the exercise.
Adegbite stated that the exercise can help reduce litter around Lagos, which in turn helps reduce the unpleasant smell in most Lagos locations, adding that regular sanitation will also help reduce waste dumping and prevent flooding.
She stated, “I believe all these are only achievable if there is sensitisation of the people too and proper follow-up, not just the usual announcement of sanitation with just words of mouth.”
A resident in the Yaba area of Lagos, Mrs Ndidi Ofoegbu, stated that the reintroduction is a welcome development, adding that it will help people keep the environment clean, desilt their gutters, and reduce the rate of indiscriminate waste disposal.
She stated, “It will help us to own and take responsibility for our environment by keeping it clean. We should also know that keeping the environment clean is not only the sole responsibility of the government. It’s a shared responsibility. We all have roles to play; the LAWMA officials also have to play their role.
“If the monthly sanitation exercise is well enforced, it will definitely impact on the hygiene and sanitation level in the state.”
Ofoegbu warned that the enforcement should not be brutish and should not be subject to abuse where law enforcement officials would begin to harass people, adding that if they involve coercion, it will defeat its purpose.
She called for robust awareness on the restriction time, stating, “It’s not when people are not aware, and they use it as a means to make money by arresting them indiscriminately.”
However, a businessman, Innocent Nnorom, stated that he would not say he is excited, noting that environmental sanitation is supposed to be a daily thing.
He questioned why people wait until the government has to use force to tell them to keep their environment clean, adding that the only difference it will make is to make more money for agberos and the task force.
Nnorom stated, “I pity people who break the rule because ‘agberos’ will use it to extort people, and the money will not get to the government. So once people develop the right habit of keeping their environment clean, they don’t need the government to declare environmental sanitation for them to do that. If you sanitise your environment once a month, will that make the environment neat? It should be a daily thing.”
He called on the government to set up a task force that would stop anyone who throws trash on the street and make them pick it, adding that such persons should be recorded as first offenders and if caught again, the right punishment should be meted out to them.
A litigation clerk residing in Ikeja, identified only as Adebola, stated that she does not see the need for monthly environmental sanitation, noting that sanitation is currently observed every Thursday of the week, and the environment is still dirty.
She stated, “If sanitation is done weekly and there isn’t improvement, then I see no need for monthly environmental sanitation. I’m not excited about it, but then I will do my part.”
The legal practitioner stated that she doubts the exercise will help reduce litter around Lagos unless stricter measures are put in place.
She added that if stricter measures are put in place for the exercise, then maybe it could help reduce indiscriminate dumping and improve gutter clearing.
Environmental sanitation a daily routine – Experts
Providing expert insight into the matter, an Epidemiologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Mushin, Prof Adebayo Onajole, stated that the reintroduction is a welcome idea, but environmental sanitation should be a routine activity done on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
He noted that refuse can be seen in many places along Lagos highways, questioning whether people must wait once a month for it to be cleared.
Onajole stated, “Since individuals have the responsibility towards cleaning, hygiene and keeping their environments clean, the government, through its parastatals, should ensure that wastes are removed from the temporary storage points within the community to the final disposal sites regularly. Otherwise, what will be happening is waste recirculation rather than waste distribution.”
The public health expert stated that sanitation encompasses more than solid waste management, adding that it also includes liquid waste management and air pollution.
He stated, “A lot of these are occurring daily in the industry and hence cannot be achieved on a one-day-a-month activity. I believe that the new introduction by the government is to be able to reawaken people to what they are supposed to do. But it is not meant to be for individuals alone. It is meant to be for communities, for industries.”
The epidemiologist noted that restricting movement during environmental sanitation, as done in the past, has been used by people for other activities that violate many human rights.
He stated that during those periods in the past, young men and children used the opportunity for sports like football, while older people used the opportunity to socialise, adding that police and law enforcement agencies used the opportunity to extort people travelling from one end to the other.
Onajole stated, “That is a bad perception of environmental sanitation. What it should be used for is to reawaken awareness of what it means to keep our environment clean. But the government should do much more than that.”
He called on the government to provide adequate and regular movement of waste from community storage to final disposal sites and to provide public toilets so that the environment is not littered.
The professor encouraged the private sector to establish public toilets at designated locations in order to maintain the environment.
Monthly sanitation insufficient without structural interventions
Also, a Public Health Systems Specialist and Chief Executive Officer, South Atlantic Health Systems, Dr Jimlas Ogunsakin, stated that reintroducing mandatory environmental sanitation in Lagos State is critically urgent from a public health standpoint but fundamentally insufficient without deeper structural interventions.
He noted that Lagos, with an estimated population of 15 to 20 million people, contends with recurring outbreaks of cholera, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, malaria, and viral hepatitis, all of which share a common cause of poor environmental sanitation.
Ogunsakin stated, “A single episode of coordinated sanitation activity can simultaneously reduce the risk of multiple disease categories like respiratory, vector-borne, waterborne, and zoonotic at the same time. No single vaccine or pharmaceutical intervention achieves this breadth of protection.”
The public health expert cited World Health Organisation systematic reviews showing that improved sanitation alone reduces diarrhoeal disease incidence by 36 to 50 per cent in low and middle-income country settings.
He stated, “Combined WASH interventions, which include sanitation and hygiene promotion, can reduce all-cause child mortality by up to 25 per cent in high-burden communities. Every $1 invested in sanitation yields an estimated $5.50 in economic returns through reduced healthcare costs and productivity gains.”
Ogunsakin further warned that monthly sanitation exercises are necessary but fundamentally insufficient without deeper structural interventions.
He stated, “Without deeper structural interventions, it amounts to treating symptoms while the disease progresses. Monthly sanitation exercises in Lagos, without structural reform, are public health mopping. They are necessary, visible, and provide short-term relief, but they do not fix the leaking roof.”
The specialist noted that Lagos generates an estimated 10,000 to 13,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily, yet current collection capacity captures only 40 to 60 per cent of this volume.
He stated, “If you generate 10,000 tonnes and collect 5,000 tonnes daily, you accumulate 5,000 tonnes of uncollected waste every single day, regardless of how many monthly sanitation exercises you conduct.”
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