Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to occupants of illegal shanties and makeshift structures erected along the median of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, warning that a large-scale demolition exercise will begin next week.
The governor announced the directive on Saturday after participating in the state’s monthly environmental sanitation exercise held across communities in Surulere Local Government Area, where he was joined by his wife, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu said the planned enforcement operation would target the stretch between Orile-Iganmu and Okokomaiko, insisting that every illegal structure occupying the highway median would be removed.
Describing the development as unacceptable, the governor said the median was never intended for commercial activities or residential occupation.
“This is the final notice to everyone occupying the median of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. From next week, we are coming to clear the entire median. Everything there will go. Every illegal structure will be removed,” he said.
According to him, the corridor represents a major public investment that must be protected from illegal encroachment.
“It is not meant to be a market. It is not meant to be a place where people erect structures. It is a highway median, and we must preserve it, especially considering the huge public investment on that corridor.
“It is a 10-lane highway built with taxpayers’ money. I will not fold my arms and allow anyone to turn that international gateway into a slum. We are deploying thousands of personnel to carry out the exercise beginning next week,” the governor added.
Beyond the planned demolition, Sanwo-Olu outlined measures aimed at strengthening waste management across Lagos.
He disclosed that the state government would soon expand its waste collection capacity by introducing 150 additional waste compactors, while waste collection tricycles would be deployed to underserved inner communities to improve service delivery.
The governor also said the administration was investing in modern waste processing infrastructure, including a material recovery and recycling facility designed to process about 4,250 metric tonnes of waste daily.
He appealed to residents to complement government efforts by disposing of waste responsibly and paying their waste collection bills promptly, noting that efficient waste management requires cooperation from both government and citizens.
“Waste management is not the responsibility of government alone. It is a collective responsibility,” he said.
“Residents must also play their part by paying for waste collection services. That is what enables the PSP operators to continue providing efficient services.”
Sanwo-Olu further encouraged parents to involve their children in environmental sanitation activities to promote a culture of cleanliness and environmental responsibility from an early age.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the state was moving away from its decades-old “collect and dump” waste disposal model.
Speaking during an inspection of the Olusosun Landfill after the sanitation exercise, Wahab explained that the government had commenced work on a material recovery facility to transform waste into valuable resources.
He said the Olusosun site would serve as a transfer loading station, moving about 2,500 metric tonnes of waste daily to the new recycling facility under construction in Ikorodu.
According to the commissioner, the facility is expected to commence operations before the end of the year.
“We can’t sustain the linear waste management system that we have practised for over four decades, which simply means we have been used to collect and dump. Collect and dump cannot be sustainable. Even if we leave climate issues aside, we simply do not have the land for it,” Wahab said.
He added that the state’s goal is to convert waste into wealth, energy and other useful products, urging Lagos residents to support the ongoing reforms as the government transitions to a more sustainable waste management system.
