Lagos Residents Frustrated Over Uncollected Waste During Sanitation Exercise

Residents in Alimosho, Lagos State, are upset about piles of uncollected waste. They say this situation is ruining the monthly environmental sanitation exercise organized by the state.

In interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, people from Akiwowo, Apatira, and Alaguntan areas shared their concerns. They want to keep their neighborhoods clean but are asking the government to remove the waste on time.

Lagos State restarted its monthly environmental sanitation on April 25, 2026, after almost ten years without it. The exercise happens from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on the last Saturday of every month, and movement is limited during this time.

Mr. Shola Aboro, a resident of Apatira Street, said people are still following the sanitation rules despite the waste collection issues. "I have done my part of the sanitation this morning and hope to continue in order to keep my environment clean."

He added, "However, it is quite discouraging to see the refuse we have cleared return to the gutters because the PSP trucks have refused to come pick them. For this environmental sanitation to be sustainable, the state government has to do their part in ensuring that our wastes are picked on time."

Another resident, known as Mummy Daniel, expressed that she might stop joining the exercise if the waste near her home stays there. "It will be futile if all we do monthly is to clear our environment and the refuse is not cleared out by the agency responsible for it."

Mummy Daniel continued, "It is so discouraging to pay for the PSP services monthly and for the past four months our garbage has not been moved. The essence of the sanitation will be ultimately defeated if the waste cleared are not cleared out when as at when due."

During the sanitation period, some residents took part in the exercise and went for morning walks. But there seemed to be more vehicles on the road compared to previous months.

Mr. Ambrose Udeh, a commercial motorcyclist, said he completed his sanitation before going to work. "I have done my own sanitation exercise this morning but I need to feed my family, so I must come out to work. I believe if we do our part and the government does its own part, our state will be clean," Udeh said.

Mr. Nose Omorodion from Cash Street shared that the ongoing refuse piles have made him lose interest in the sanitation exercise. "The environment is dirty, everywhere you turn there is a pile of dirt, so what are we coming to clean?"

He added, "We have been promised that our refuse will be cleared when we clean our environment but for how long? We just hope that the dirt will not drown us."