The Lagos State Government says that the the monthly environmental sanitation exercise will resume from April 25, ending a nine-year suspension of the programme.
Tokunbo Wahab, the state commissioner for environment made the announcment on Saturday shortly after Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Obafemi Hamzat carried out symbolic street cleaning to mark the return of the initiative.
The statewide sanitation exercise was suspended in November 2016 following a ruling by the Court of Appeal which held that restricting residents’ movement during the sanitation hours violated citizens’ rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.
Before its suspension, the exercise was observed on the last Saturday of every month between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
According to Wahab, the reintroduced exercise will now hold on the last Saturday of each month from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
“During this period, residents are enjoined to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in their frontages, and dispose of waste properly as a civic responsibility,” Wahab said.
“This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier and flood-resilient Lagos. It will be backed with the full enforcement weight of the Lagos State Government.”
The commissioner described the decision to restore the sanitation exercise as an “audacious step,” noting that authorities spent more than a year consulting and deliberating before agreeing to reintroduce the programme.
