‘We’ll deliver one of the world’s cleanest cities’ — Ambode tenders apology over refuse heaps

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, says the resurgence of waste on major highways and streets in the state, will soon be a thing of the past.

In a statement by Habib Aruna, his chief press secretary, Ambode assured residents that the state government is on top of the situation.

The governor said the new waste management policy of the state encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) was designed to holistically address the challenges in the sector.

He added that all hands were on deck to clear the refuse heaps across the metropolis and confront the initial hitches with the transition period.

He further said adequate officials of LAGESC transformed from the former Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), have been employed to police all nooks and crannies of the state to curb indiscriminate dumping of waste and other acts inimical to clean, hygienic and sustainable environment.

“We are all living witnesses to the restructuring we are trying to do in the environmental sector. That restructuring culminated in the introduction of CLI which is focused at ensuring that the way we clean Lagos is comparable to what is being done in first-class cities in the world,” said Ambode who was represented by Obafela Bank-Olemoh, his special adviser, at the Lagos house in Alausa, after inaugurating new board of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC).

“As a result, we are changing the way environment in Lagos is being managed and to help us to achieve that, this sanitation corp is important.

“But more importantly now is to speak to the fact that yes, we are having some challenges in the area of waste management in Lagos today.

“We all live in Lagos but I want to reaffirm that we are doing everything to ensure that this becomes a thing of the past.

“Let me assure the people that in the coming weeks, there will be improvement. We are already witnessing a high-level of improvement; we promise that throughout this week and throughout next week, people will see a marked improvement in our state as more equipment come in to the country and we are able to deploy the equipment accordingly.

“God helping us, we will deliver one of the cleanest cities in the world.”