Lagos Government Takes Environmental Sanitation Campaign to Festac
Despite what appears to be low participation by residents in Lagos State’s reintroduced monthly environmental sanitation exercise, the state government says it remains committed to the initiative as part of its broader efforts to achieve a cleaner and healthier Lagos.
The government’s resolve was demonstrated on Saturday, August 29, 2026, when the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab; and Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, joined other senior government officials in the monthly exercise.
The exercise took place in Festac, Amuwo-Odofin, where government officials and environmental agencies moved through the community to clean public spaces, evacuate waste, inspect environmental conditions and sensitise residents on proper waste management.
Beyond the physical cleaning, the exercise was also used to remind residents that government cannot achieve a clean Lagos alone.
Residents were urged to take ownership of their immediate environment, dispose of waste responsibly and patronise assigned Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators rather than resorting to indiscriminate dumping.
The presence of the Deputy Governor, Commissioner and LAWMA chief at the exercise was seen as a demonstration of the importance the administration attaches to environmental sanitation, particularly at a time when public participation appears to remain a major challenge.
The monthly sanitation programme was reintroduced by the state government as part of efforts to restore greater discipline in environmental management and encourage residents to devote time to cleaning their homes, streets and neighbourhoods.
However, the relatively low turnout of residents in some areas continues to raise questions about how effectively the initiative can achieve its objectives without stronger community participation.
For the government, the message is clear: environmental cleanliness cannot be treated solely as the responsibility of sanitation workers or government agencies.
It is a shared responsibility that begins with individual households and extends to markets, businesses, estates and entire communities.
The Festac exercise therefore served not only as another government-led cleaning operation, but also as a reminder that the vision of a cleaner Lagos ultimately depends on the willingness of residents to change their everyday habits.
As the government intensifies waste evacuation, environmental inspections and public sensitisation, the success of the monthly sanitation exercise may increasingly be measured not by the number of officials who participate, but by how many ordinary Lagosians are willing to come out, clean their surroundings and keep them clean.
The challenge, therefore, is no longer simply whether the government takes the sanitation exercise seriously. The bigger question is whether Lagos residents will also embrace it as their own.
That, officials say, is the critical link between the monthly exercise and the administration’s larger ambition of achieving a cleaner, healthier and more liveable Lagos.
