Lagos waste and flood response sparks dispute between commissioner and Rhodes-Vivour
Lagos Environment Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab has defended the state’s waste and flood-control efforts after governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour criticised conditions in the city. Wahab acknowledged collection failures and operational problems, but said the government was investing in infrastructure, data systems and reforms while residents also had responsibilities.
Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab has rejected suggestions that the government lacks a plan for managing waste and flooding, after African Democratic Congress governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour criticised conditions in the state. Rhodes-Vivour raised the concerns during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday and described Lagos as “stinking”. Wahab said some of the criticisms were legitimate, but argued that the description did not reflect the scale of the government’s ongoing work.
Lagos generates an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 tonnes of municipal waste daily, according to Wahab. He said the Lagos Waste Management Authority and private-sector operators removed about 418,500 tonnes in May 2026, or approximately 13,200 tonnes a day. The commissioner acknowledged collection failures, underperforming operators and operational bottlenecks.
He said delays at disposal facilities could slow truck turnaround, disrupt collection schedules and cause refuse to accumulate in neighbourhoods. Rehabilitation of Road E and additional platforms at the Olusosun landfill, he added, increased truck movements to 1,866 in the week after the intervention, with Olusosun trips rising from 574 to 1,012. Wahab said the state was also investing in transfer loading stations, material recovery facilities, recycling, composting and the Epe waste-to-energy project.
The government was strengthening property enumeration, geocoded service locations, GPS tracking, weighbridge measurements and collection records, while reforming the private-sector participation system and threatening sanctions or termination for poor performers. He said monthly environmental sanitation exercises were not a substitute for regular collection. Government, he said, must provide reliable services, while residents and businesses must stop dumping waste in drains, road medians and public spaces.
On flooding, Wahab cited Lagos’s coastal geography, tidal locks and climate change. He said drainage projects, pump stations, maintenance, wetland preservation and floodplain enforcement had reduced flooding incidents by 75 to 80 per cent statewide, while acknowledging that challenges remained.
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