The Lagos State Government has announced plans to reintroduce the monthly environmental sanitation exercise beginning April 25.
The Commissioner of Environment Tokunbo Wahab disclosed the decision on Saturday shortly after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and deputy Obafemi Hamzat carried out a symbolic street cleaning to mark the return of the programme.
The statewide exercise, which involves residents cleaning their surroundings, is being reinstated nine years after it was halted in November 2016. The suspension followed a judgment by the Court of Appeal (Nigeria) which ruled that restricting movement during sanitation hours violated citizens’ rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.
Before the programme was stopped, the sanitation exercise held on the last Saturday of each month between 7am and 10am.
Wahab said the reintroduced exercise will now take place 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,” he said.
He emphasised that the initiative requires collective participation from residents.
“This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier and flood-resilient Lagos. It will be backed with the full enforcement weight of the Lagos State Government.”
Wahab added that the decision to bring back the sanitation exercise was the result of extensive consultations and planning by the state authorities.
He described the move as an “audacious step”, noting that the government spent over a year deliberating with stakeholders before agreeing to reintroduce the programme.
