By ADERONKE OJEDIRAN and OLAITAN IDRIS

The Lagos Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, on Friday, said the state arrested and prosecuted 3,786 street traders and cart pushers for environmental offences.

Wahab made this known in a Ministerial News Briefing on the achievements of ministry in the last 12 months at Alausa, Ikeja.

Wahab said a total of 3,786 street traders, environmental polluters, and cart pushers were arrested and prosecuted.

?At the last count, over almost 700 persons were arrested for highway crossing which endanger their lives,? he said.

He added that the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) also cleared rail tracks and demolished shanties and illegal structures around Lagos metropolis.

?KAI in collaboration with the State Task force on Environmental and Special Offences, effected the clearing of rail tracks and demolition of shanties and illegal structures.

?These illegal shanties and structures were under the Apongbon bridge, Lekki, Victoria Island, Agege, Obalende, and the axis of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway,? he said.

He said the present administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu was fully committed to environmental sustainability.

?This has led to the development of a comprehensive, multi-sectorial approach to ensure a clean, resilient, and livable city.

?Lagos State, a sub-national with an estimated population of 22 million plus, generates over 13,000 metric tonnes of solid wastes on a daily basis, the highest in the West African sub region.

?The present administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu in line with his THEMES Plus Agenda and consolidating on the gains of his first term in office is fully committed to environmental sustainability.

?This has led to the development of a comprehensive, multi-sectorial approach to ensure a clean, resilient, and livable city,? he said.

He said the governor believed that providing innovative solutions to the management of the 13,000 waste generated on a daily basis lies at the heart of unlocking the problem of waste management in the state.

?In addition to transitioning from a linear ?collect and dump? system to a sustainable circular economy, it is believed that providing workable practical solutions to the management of the daily generated waste will ensure that a reduced quantum volume of waste is what gets to our landfill sites.

?It will also ensure that we record less incidences of flash floods across the metropolis,? he said.

He said the state government had initiated several Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would not only develop waste to resource initiatives but would also improve collection and recycling of solid and liquid waste.

?This would bring about the establishment of a smelting plant for processing electronic waste and ensuring that Lagos becomes a leader in electronic waste recycling,? he said.

He said the governor, personally last May, initialled the signing of an MOU with a Dutch firm, Harvest Waste Consortium, for the construction of a high efficiency Waste-to-Energy plant on Epe landfill.

?This will utilise advanced technology to generate clean energy from municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste and also consume 2,500 tonnes daily of municipal solid waste.

?The innovative waste management solution is expected to take some 40,000 homes off the national electricity grid.

?The technology would also enhance energy security and diversification, generating between 60 and 75 megawatts of base load electricity annually.

?The state has also initiated a major agreement with Jospong Group represented by Zoom lion Nigeria for the construction and of operation of Material Recovery Facility and Transfer Loading Stations in key areas,? he said.

He said the partnership also included the processing of 3,500 tonnes of solid waste and 4,000 cubic metres of liquid waste daily.

?This process will improve collection and recycling efficiency.

?Others are the signing of an MOU agreement with a Netherlands backed company ?Close the Loop? BV to establish an e-waste smelter plant in Lagos to manage the vast deposit of electronic waste in the state, whilst creating new jobs and a new economy,? he said.

He said there had been a daily deployment of 15,000 street sweepers across highways in order to ensure a clean city.

?We are daily deploying 15,000 street sweepers across highways, inner roads and markets.

?We are also ensuring stronger enforcement of environmental laws, penalising illegal dumping and indiscriminate waste disposal alongside several measures.

?The state in recognition of the need to address open defecation is constructing modern public toilets in markets, transport hubs, and informal settlements.

?The construction of an additional 150 new public toilets is ongoing alongside an additional 250 toilets being executed through the public private partnership under the WASH initiative,? he said.

He said in building a climate resilient Lagos, the present administration was investing in climate resilience measures such as urban greening programmes,

?Others are enhancing air quality and reducing urban heat as well as an expansion of air quality monitoring systems to track pollution levels,? he said.

On the drainage system, he said that during the review period, a total of 22.9 km of collector drains and 12.43km of primary channels areas were in various levels of completion within the state.

?An additional 36.44 km of collector drains are going through procurement process for award in the year 2025.

?A total number of 666,740.50 kilometres of 397 secondary collectors was maintained and cleaned up between 2023 till date,? he said.

He added that in 2023, 144 secondary collectors with a total length of 257,399km were cleaned. (NAN)

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