Lagos To Tackle Environmental Degradation In Iwaya

Officials of the Lagos State government yesterday visited the Iwaya community as part of efforts to tackle environmental degradation, promising to address issues of street trading, waste management and flooding.

The commissioner for environment and water resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, gave the assurance while speaking with journalists after a courtesy visit to the Olu of Iwaya, Oba Suleiman Owolabi.

Wahab also inspected the ongoing environmental and infrastructure projects on Lagos Island.

He said Iwaya community would soon witness significant improvement, adding that the government was committed to fixing the environmental challenges in the area.

“We came to Iwaya because we promised the Oba and the community that we would assess the state of the environment.

“We awarded some contracts in Iwaya to complete a collector we are lining to the lagoon.

The Oba also raised issues on street trading, waste management and flash flooding, which we inspected,” he said.

He said the visit was timely as the government was finalising its 2026 budget.

“Thankfully, the visit is timely because we are preparing next year’s budget. We want to prioritise this Iwaya project,” he said.

Wahab described the area as strategic due to its location between the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the lagoon.

“We want to clean up the channels, dredge them and ensure free flow of storm water into the lagoon,” he added.

On street trading, he said the Kick Against Indiscipline officials would enforce environmental laws in the community.

Speaking on his inspection tour of the Lagos Island, Wahab said he was impressed with the level of work being done.

“A few months ago, the situation was different. Now you can see the progress made by Julius Berger and the Ministry of Environment.

“We told them to align their work plans so we can deliver the projects on time,” he said.

Commenting on waste management, the commissioner admitted that the state had recently experienced setbacks but said government had taken steps to address the challenges.

“In the past few weeks, we have faced deterioration in the situation. We have engaged the PSP operators and addressed their concerns. The governor met with them two weeks ago, and I have also met with them several times,” he said.

He noted that Lagos, as a rapidly growing city, faced similar waste management challenges as cities across the world.

“We are transitioning from the old practice of just picking and dumping waste. We are now treating waste as a resource.

“This is why we are increasing advocacy to show people that waste can generate income,” he said.

The commissioner added that building a sustainable waste management culture would take time.

In his remarks, the Olu of Iwaya thanked the commissioner for the visit, expressing confidence that the government would resolve the community’s environmental challenges.

“We are the closest host community to UNILAG, Yabatech and WAEC. I have written several proposals, and we thank God the commissioner is here. I believe a new era has come,” the traditional ruler said.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Enterprise Geographic Information Service (E-GIS) and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, commended the ministry for its efforts. (NAN)