Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello has hailed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his works in reinvigorating the environmental sector of the state.
He stated that the administration has restored the mandate of its agencies and making the State cleaner.
Speaking during the 2020 Ministerial Press Briefing as part of activities to commemorate the first year in office of Governor Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources said that all the drainage channels in the State are being touched in a continuous cleaning and maintaining exercise.
He said while some of the drainage channels have been cleaned up, they are being revisited on a regular basis to ensure that they don’t return to the terrible state in which they were some five or more years ago.
He revealed that the government through LAWMA has been monitoring the activities of accredited private sector participants (PSP) with a view to access their level of service delivery and address all challenges promptly adding that the PSP operators are being empowered and encouraged to acquire new equipments
He reiterated that in order to promote extraction of resources and use of recycling to conserve natural resources government introduced the Blue Box waste sorting programme.
He said: “It encouraged sorting of wastes at source and encouraging people to generate revenue from their waste.
“The operatives will now adorn the green uniform which symbolises the environment unlike the previous peach coloured uniform and will stick to their primary role of ensuring that people obey all sanitation laws” Bello explained.
He revealed that the organisation has also expanded its operational division to Twenty-One (21) from Ten for efficiency.
Realizing that the State requires attention for sustainable development in the face of incessant flood, Tunji Bello reported that the Drainage maintenance team has embarked on the dredging, and cleaning of all primary and secondary drainage channels in the State.
“We have been engaging in regular desilting of all drainage channels through its Emergency Flood Abatement Gangs and has also procured tipping trucks that swiftly carts away the silts generated from the cleaned drains”.
“From January till date, the Emergency Flood Abatement Gang (EFAG) has carried out routine maintenance cleaning and emergency de-flooding interventions on 47 Nos. Secondary Collector Drains, about 13 critical channels have been worked on so far which includes dredging and maintenance, while an approval has been gotten for the maintenance cleaning of 192 secondary collectors spread throughout the 20 Local Government Areas of the State.”
He expressed committment to fostering a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for the well-being of the citizenry through the application of best practices in the environmental management.
He said that one of the first steps taken was the rejuvenation of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority LAWMA, which is now at the forefront of waste collection.
He disclosed further that while LASEPA monitors noise level at religious houses and clubs, government has also assisted in curtailing the excesses of patrons of such clubs who block roads and cause traffic congestion all in the name of unwinding.
“As part of effort towards curbing the spread of Covid19 pandemic, LASEPA also conducted Air Quality Assessment of Lagos Environment during COVID-19 lockdown in partnership with the Nigeria Environmental Society (NES) to generate data on the Air Quality of Lagos in relation to the covid-19 pandemic as a basis for possible policy formulations during post Covid-19 Era”.
“The agency was also at the forefront of testing chemicals and concentrates used in disinfecting major bus stops, motor parks and garages during the lockdown” he said.
The commissioner said the ministry also carried out a major clean-up exercise of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Obalende axis of the state, restoring the lost glory of the vicinity which came about as a result of the gross environmental degradation and wanton disregard for physical planning regulations.
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