Reintroduced Lagos Monthly Environmental Sanitation Records High Compliance

The reintroduced monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Lagos State yesterday recorded high compliance as top state officials urged residents to adopt a culture of daily cleanliness.

The wife of Lagos State governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, monitored the exercise at Ikoyi/Obalende local council development area (LCDA), while that of Agege was led by the state’s head of service, Mr Bode Agoro.

Fielding questions from journalists, the state’s first lady described residents’ participation and voluntary compliance as encouraging, noting that the initiative is gradually gaining acceptance across the state.

“I think the assessment for this morning is good. It was flagged off last month, and we are having the first exercise today. We have seen residents come out to participate. It is a gradual process, and people are becoming more aware,” she said.

She observed that restriction of movement between 6:30am and 8:30am was largely adhered to, with traders keeping off the streets and residents actively cleaning their surroundings.

“For a first-timer, I am impressed,” she added, urging Lagosians to sustain the momentum by maintaining cleanliness beyond the monthly exercise.

“You don’t have to wait till sanitation day. Clean your environment daily.

We also brought students out to encourage leadership by example and to catch them young,” she said.

In Agege, the head of service, Bode Agoro, commended residents for their support, describing the turnout as impressive for a first edition.

“For the very first day, it has been very good. The streets are clean,” he said, while calling for increased sensitisation to further improve participation.

Agoro noted that the exercise remains largely voluntary, explaining that reduced vehicular movement was due to residents’ willingness to participate rather than enforcement.

Also, the commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said compliance level across the state exceeded 98 per cent, attributing the success to voluntary participation and grassroots sensitisation.

“Vehicles were largely off the roads, and people complied. Lagosians want to keep the state clean and safe,” Wahab said.

He explained that the government deliberately avoided strict enforcement, opting instead to build community ownership and a sustainable culture of environmental responsibility.

“There is no law or judgment stopping Lagos State from restricting movement, but we chose to build consensus and participation,” he said, adding that the state would assess performance across councils and reward the cleanest local government areas.