The Lagos State Government on Tuesday appealed to residents to bear with it on the heaps of refuse still found across the state.
The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Babtunde Durosinmi-Etti, made the appeal at a news conference in Lagos.
He spoke while parading four suspected cart pushers alleged to have dumped refuse at an unauthorised location in Agege area of the state.
Durosinmi-Etti said that previously, 13,000 metric tonnes of waste was generated daily in Lagos, but lately, it had increased.
“There has been population implosion and that contributed to the increase in refuse across the state.
“So, there is no way we can say the definite date when the refuse we see on the streets will finally leave the streets.
“The state government has decided to take a holistic strategy toward cases of refuse dumping within the state.
“What we are currently experiencing across the state is temporary. It will soon disappear,” he said.
Durosinmi-Etti said that the government would commence commercial waste exercise of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) from March 1, to prevent indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.
He said the four suspected cart pushers were arrested in collaboration with some market leaders while dumping refuse at an unauthorised location in Agege.
However, one of the suspects, Abubakar Lawal, a school driver, claimed that he was on his way to school when he was apprehended by environment officials.
He said: “I was on my way to the school where I was employed as a driver when the state government officials arrested me.
“I do not know the reason for their action, and later they told me that I was found dumping refuse at an unauthorised location.”
