Lagos urges compliance as monthly sanitation resumes April 25

The Lagos Waste Management Authority has called on residents to fully comply with the state’s monthly environmental sanitation exercise, scheduled to resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

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‎In a statement issued via its official X handle on Monday, the agency said the exercise will hold from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. across Lagos State.

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‎LAWMA reminded residents that the two-hour window is dedicated to cleaning surroundings and ensuring proper waste disposal across the state.

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‎“Monthly sanitation exercise commences on Saturday 25th April from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. across the state.

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‎“This is a reminder that sanitation is everyone’s responsibility. Residents are encouraged to clean their surroundings, dispose waste properly, and support efforts to keep our environment clean and safe.

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‎Together, we can achieve a cleaner and more livable Lagos,” the statement read.

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‎News reports that the state government in March announced the resumption of the exercise, nearly a decade after it was suspended.

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‎“I am pleased to inform all Lagosians that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise will resume effective Saturday, 25th April 2026, holding on the last Saturday of every month from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m,” the state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said.

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‎Previously held between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., the initiative was suspended in November 2016 following a legal pronouncement restricting movement during the exercise.

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‎Following the reintroduction, some Lagos State residents expressed excitement, saying it will curb indiscriminate waste disposal, reduce flooding, and restore cleanliness across the state.

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‎Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, they stated that they were willing to participate in the exercise to help restore Lagos’s cleanliness and reduce unpleasant odours.

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‎However, some raised concerns about how the exercise would be enforced.

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‎They warned that movement restrictions could be misused by law enforcement officials for extortion and emphasised the importance of pairing the initiative with re-education on proper waste disposal, rather than relying solely on monthly activities.

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