The Babajide Sanwo Olu has officially flagged off the reintroduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise across Lagos State. The initiative, set to commence in April, will take place every last Saturday of the month from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Sanwo-Olu said the exercise is not political but a civic and public health responsibility aimed at building a cleaner and healthier Lagos. He stressed that government alone cannot maintain a clean city without active citizen participation, calling on residents to embrace shared responsibility for streets, markets, drainage channels, and public spaces.
“A clean city is not achieved by government alone. It is built every day by the actions of citizens, by what we do in our homes, in our markets, in our communities and on our streets,” he said. The governor highlighted that indiscriminate disposal of refuse, including plastic bottles and sachets, clogs drainage channels, worsens flooding, and undermines road infrastructure.
Sanwo-Olu recalled that the monthly sanitation exercise was a national civic culture prior to its suspension in November 2016 following a Federal High Court ruling that deemed movement restrictions unconstitutional. He emphasized that while enforcement mechanisms have ced, the responsibility to maintain a healthy environment remains.
The initiative aims to revive the culture of voluntary community participation in cleaning neighborhoods through awareness, partnerships, and cooperation with residents rather than punitive measures. Residents including community development associations, market leaders, youth groups, religious institutions, and political organisations were urged to take ownership of environmental cleanliness.
Tokunbo Wahab praised the governor for reintroducing the exercise, calling it a bold step to restore a longstanding culture of cleanliness in the state. He explained that over a year of consultations with stakeholders went into designing a practical and lawful approach that would engage residents.
Wahab added that Lagos is transitioning from a linear waste management model to a circular system that treats waste as a resource, enabling the production of energy, compost, fertilizer, and recyclable materials, thereby creating economic opportunities and promoting sustainability.
The reintroduction of the monthly sanitation exercise, according to Sanwo-Olu and Wahab, is a movement aimed at behavioral ce and fostering environmental stewardship for a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Lagos for present and future generations.
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