A political dispute has broken out over environmental management in Lagos ahead of the 2027 governorship election, with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate describing the state as “stinking” and the government insisting substantial progress is being made.
The debate erupted following an appearance by the candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he raised sharp concerns regarding refuse management and flood control.
Responding to the criticism, Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, accepted that some concerns were valid but dismissed claims that the state lacked a comprehensive strategy.
Addressing the scale of the challenge, Wahab disclosed that the metropolis generates between 13 thousand and 15 thousand tonnes of municipal waste daily. He noted that the Lagos Waste Management Authority and private sector participation (PSP) operators cleared approximately 418,500 tonnes of waste in May 2026 alone, averaging around 13,200 tonnes each day.
“These figures underscore the enormous scale of the responsibility. They do not suggest that every resident receives satisfactory service,” Wahab admitted. “We acknowledge collection failures, underperforming PSP operators and operational bottlenecks. However, it is misleading to suggest that Lagos has no plan beyond clearing refuse after it accumulates.”
The commissioner detailed ongoing infrastructural interventions, including the rehabilitation of Road E and new disposal platforms at the Olusosun landfill, which boosted truck trips at the site from 574 to 1,012 within a week. He explained that waste management functions as an interconnected system, where disposal facility delays disrupt collection schedules across neighbourhoods. He added that the state is investing in modern transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities, recycling, composting, and the Epe waste-to-energy project to move away from decades of “pick-and-dump practices”.
Wahab stated that the administration is reforming the PSP system through digital tracking and property enumeration, warning that underperforming operators will face sanctions or termination. He rejected the notion that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise serves as a substitute for regular collection, stressing that while the government must provide reliable services, residents must cease dumping waste into drains and road medians.
On flood control, the commissioner argued that criticism must factor in coastal geography, tidal locks, and climate change, pointing out that expanded drainage infrastructure, pump stations, and year-round maintenance have reduced flooding incidents by 75 to 80 per cent statewide.
Rhodes-Vivour swiftly dismissed the commissioner’s response, characterising it as “plenty of prose, very little results.”
The opposition candidate contended that uncollected waste inevitably washes into drainage channels during heavy rainfall regardless of whether residents intentionally dump it there. He argued that accumulated garbage remains visible to both residents and visitors across the state.
Rhodes-Vivour claimed Lagos possesses only 1.3 kilometres of roads per square kilometre of land compared to 13.6 kilometres in Singapore, emphasizing that a higher density of roads and accompanying drains reduces surface water accumulation.
To resolve the perennial flooding, Rhodes-Vivour outlined a platform featuring aggressive channel clearing, expanded road and drainage construction, coastal embankments along shorelines, and the deployment of sluice gates with high-powered water pumps. He declared that 27 years of administration under the ruling All Progressives Congress had proved the party incapable of implementing such practical measures, calling on voters to support his campaign to “Make Èkó Great Again.”