Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has urged residents to embrace waste sorting and proper sanitation practices to facilitate waste evacuation and prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Mrs Sanwo-Olu made the call on Saturday while monitoring the sixth edition of the state’s reintroduced monthly environmental sanitation at Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.

She stressed the need for cleaner and sustainable sanitation practices at the grassroots, saying that proper waste management remained essential to maintaining a healthy environment.

She said, “We need our people to embrace sorting of waste because it will make evacuation easier and also help us to maintain a cleaner environment.

“Sanitation is not just about cleaning our surroundings; it is about ensuring that our communities are healthy and sustainable and preventing the spread of communicable diseases.”

Mrs Sanwo-Olu, who acknowledged the need for the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to improve its waste evacuation operations, said the situation could only get better with sustained efforts by all stakeholders.

“LAWMA needs to be up and doing. We acknowledge that there are areas where we need to improve, but it can only get better.

“We also need residents to play their own part by ensuring that waste is properly sorted and disposed of,” she said.

She commended residents of Oshodi-Isolo, particularly women and children, for participating actively in the monthly exercise.

The governor’s wife was accompanied by Oluremi Hamzat, wife of the deputy governor, Oluremi Hamzat and the Special Adviser on Environment, Rotimi Akodu and other top government functionaries.

Meanwhile, some residents of Olowora and Eweje streets alleged that heaps of refuse had accumulated in their areas due to non-evacuation by LAWMA in the last six months.

A resident of Olowora, Adeola Lawal, urged the state government and waste management authorities to be proactive in evacuating refuse, saying that prolonged accumulation of waste could pose serious health risks to residents.

Mrs Lawal called for regular monitoring of waste collection activities and prompt intervention whenever refuse began to accumulate, stressing the need to guard against a possible epidemic.

From Mafoluku, a resident, Julius Note, said residents had continued to fulfil their obligations by paying their PSP waste collection bills, but expressed concern over the prolonged presence of refuse in the area.

Mr Moye urged the authorities to ensure that waste was evacuated regularly, saying that proactive measures were necessary to prevent the situation from deteriorating into a public health crisis.

Another resident, Charles Nwobodo, also called for greater proactiveness by the state government and relevant waste management agencies, urging them to address refuse accumulation before it became a wider health challenge.

Mr Nwobodo said residents should also play their part by disposing of waste properly, while the authorities should ensure that collected waste was evacuated promptly.

The residents appealed to the state government to strengthen waste evacuation operations in Olowora and Eweje and ensure that communities where residents regularly paid their PSP bills received corresponding waste collection services.

They also called for sustained environmental sanitation beyond the monthly exercise, saying regular waste evacuation would complement residents’ efforts to maintain clean and healthy surroundings.

The streets monitored by Mrs Sanwo-Olu and her entourage include Adisa Ajibulu, Eweje, Makinde, Abeokuta and Olowora.

(NAN)