The Lagos State House of Assembly has ratified the report of its four-man ad-hoc committee reviewing the proposed concession agreement between the Lagos State Government and Zoomlion Nigeria Limited, alongside the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) tied to the state’s Waste Improvement Programme.
The committee, constituted under the leadership of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, was tasked with scrutinising the public-private partnership framework aimed at enhancing solid waste processing, disposal and management across Lagos.
Presenting the report during plenary, the committee chairman, Gbolahan Yishawu, disclosed that the House was formally requested to ratify the concession agreement transmitted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and to examine the proposed ISPO structure in light of public interest and the state’s fiscal obligations.
According to the committee’s findings, lawmakers conducted a comprehensive clause-by-clause review of the agreement and introduced extensive recommendations before granting legislative approval.
Yishawu emphasised that ratification must be subject to strict legal safeguards. These include eliminating ambiguities and discrepancies in the contract and ensuring explicit references to applicable Lagos State laws throughout the document.
He further stated that any future expansion in operational scope, infrastructure development, or waste coverage under the concession must receive prior notification and approval from the Assembly.
In a move aimed at environmental accountability, the committee recommended periodic environmental and social impact assessments. It also called for measurable greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and clearly defined timelines to be embedded within the concession framework.
On land matters, lawmakers insisted that the precise size and location of any state-owned land allocated to the concessionaire must be explicitly stated in the agreement. Broad and undefined land-use provisions, they said, should be redrafted to prevent potential abuse or misinterpretation.
The Assembly also clarified operational boundaries within the state’s waste value chain. Lawmakers stressed that waste collection and transportation should remain the responsibility of existing Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, while Zoomlion’s mandate should be limited to transferring waste from designated transfer stations to recovery and processing facilities.
Further recommendations included strengthened health and safety standards for workers in line with international best practices, enhanced revenue transparency mechanisms, and tighter monitoring and evaluation frameworks to ensure robust state oversight of the project.
On the financial architecture, the committee expressed reservations over the proposed ISPO arrangement. It recommended that payment obligations be capped at seven years, rather than allowing automatic liabilities that extend beyond the concession tenure.
The panel proposed a management fee benchmark of ₦32,000 per tonne of waste, with structured advance payments and monthly obligations distributed over five years. It also urged the executive arm to consider alternative financing instruments to ease pressure on the state’s general revenue.
To promote competition and prevent monopolisation, the committee advised that only 4,250 tonnes of waste per day, out of the estimated 13,000 tonnes generated daily in Lagos, be allocated under the concession. The remaining volume, lawmakers suggested, should remain open to participation by other investors.
Following the presentation, members of the House commended the committee’s work, describing the intervention as timely amid increasing public concern over waste management challenges in the state.
The motion for adoption was approved through a voice vote, after which Speaker Obasa directed the Clerk of the House to formally communicate the Assembly’s resolution to Governor Sanwo-Olu.
