Gbadebo-Rhodes-Vivour
The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, and the 2027 Lagos governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, have disagreed over the state government’s management of waste and flooding.
The disagreement followed Rhodes-Vivour’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, where he raised concerns about waste management and flooding in Lagos and described the state as “stinking.”
Responding to the concerns, Wahab said while some of Rhodes-Vivour’s concerns were legitimate, it was misleading to suggest that the Lagos State Government had no plan beyond clearing refuse after it accumulated.
Lagos generates an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, Wahab said, adding that the Lagos Waste Management Authority and private sector participation operators evacuated approximately 418,500 tonnes of waste in May 2026 alone.
He said this represented an average of about 13,200 tonnes daily.
“These figures underscore the enormous scale of the responsibility. They do not suggest that every resident receives satisfactory service.
“We acknowledge collection failures, underperforming PSP operators and operational bottlenecks. However, it is misleading to suggest that Lagos has no plan beyond clearing refuse after it accumulates,” Wahab said.
The commissioner said waste management was an interconnected system, explaining that delays at disposal facilities could affect truck turnaround, disrupt collection schedules and eventually lead to refuse accumulation in neighbourhoods.
“Waste management is an interconnected system. Delays at disposal facilities affect truck turnaround, disrupt collection schedules and eventually create refuse accumulation across neighbourhoods,” he said.
Wahab said the rehabilitation of Road E and additional disposal platforms at the Olusosun landfill had improved operational efficiency.
“Truck movements across disposal facilities rose to 1,866 in the week following the intervention, while Olusosun recorded an increase from 574 to 1,012 trips,” he said.
Beyond emergency interventions, he said the state was investing in Modern Transfer Loading Stations, Material Recovery Facilities, recycling, composting and the Epe waste-to-energy project.
“The objective is to transition from decades of pick-and-dump practices to a sustainable system where waste becomes a resource for energy and economic value,” Wahab said.
On data collection, the commissioner said, “The principle is straightforward: a modern waste management system must measure what it manages.”
He said the government was strengthening property enumeration, geocoded service locations, GPS tracking, weighbridge measurements, collection records and recovery data.
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