The Lagos State Government has reintroduced the monthly environmental sanitation exercise as part of renewed efforts to maintain a cleaner and healthier city.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that the exercise will begin on Saturday, April 25, 2026, and will take place on the last Saturday of every month between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
The announcement was made during a sensitisation programme organised by the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources along the Mushin–Agege Motor Road corridor.
No restriction of movement
The sanitation exercise was suspended in 2016 after a court ruling nullified the compulsory restriction of movement previously enforced during sanitation hours.
Under the new arrangement, residents will not face movement restrictions, with the government encouraging voluntary participation and community involvement instead.
Sanwo-Olu urged residents to support the initiative by taking responsibility for maintaining their surroundings.
“A clean city is not achieved by government alone. It is built by the daily actions of the people who live in it,” the governor said.
Call for environmental responsibility
Sanwo-Olu emphasised that improper waste disposal contributes significantly to flooding and environmental degradation.
He urged residents to dispose of plastics, product packaging and other waste materials responsibly.
“When waste is carelessly thrown on our streets or into our drains, it eventually returns to us in the form of flooding, environmental degradation and public health risks,” he said.
The governor also recalled that the sanitation exercise was once a nationwide practice, observed on the last Saturday of every month, when communities cleaned their surroundings and cleared drainage systems.
Agencies to enforce sanitation rules
Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab assured residents that the initiative would be backed by enforcement.
He said agencies under the ministry—including the Lagos Waste Management Authority, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, and the Kick Against Indiscipline Brigade—would collaborate to ensure compliance.
Wahab warned residents against illegal waste disposal, trading in unauthorised locations, burning refuse, open defecation and patronising cart pushers.
He added that offenders would be prosecuted under the Lagos State Environmental Protection Law of 2017.
