The African Democratic Congress (ADC) House of Assembly candidate for Eti-Osa Constituency II, Ayodele Adio, has criticised the Lagos State Government over the worsening waste management situation in the state.
Adio said the government could no longer justify the crisis with explanations of inadequate planning after the Lagos State Deputy Governor reportedly admitted that waste management operators were asked to handle a volume of refuse they had not anticipated.
Reacting to the comments, Adio questioned how successive administrations in Lagos could fail to adequately anticipate the state’s waste generation despite its population growth, urbanisation and expanding economic activities.
“After more than two decades of successive administrations, how can a government responsible for managing one of the largest and most densely populated cities in Africa say it did not predict the scale of the waste it would have to manage?” he asked.
The ADC candidate argued that waste generation was not an unpredictable phenomenon, noting that population growth, commercial activity, urban expansion and consumption patterns could be measured and used for effective planning.
He said the Deputy Governor’s comments highlighted what he described as deeper problems of poor planning and inadequate long-term thinking within the state government.
“Waste generation is not an unpredictable phenomenon. Population growth, urbanisation, commercial activity and consumption patterns are measurable. A serious government should be planning ahead of these realities, not discovering them after the streets and neighbourhoods are overwhelmed by refuse,” Adio said.
He also faulted the government for comparing Lagos’ waste management challenges with the situation in other African cities, arguing that the state should aspire to set standards rather than use problems elsewhere as justification for its own shortcomings.
“If you go around Africa and see disorganisation, that should not become an excuse for Lagos to accept the same. Lagos should be the city other African cities are studying for solutions, not a government constantly explaining why it cannot solve problems that are within its capacity to solve,” he said.
Adio said the waste crisis reflected a broader need to modernise the state’s approach to governance and infrastructure.
“The problem is not just waste. The problem is a government that appears to have run out of fresh ideas. We are dealing with a city that has grown dramatically in population, economic activity and physical expansion, yet the government continues to approach today’s challenges with yesterday’s thinking,” he said.
He called for a comprehensive overhaul of Lagos’ waste management system, including improved data collection, modern waste collection methods, stronger enforcement, greater investment in recycling and waste-to-energy infrastructure, and the integration of informal waste recyclers into a regulated system.
Adio maintained that Lagos had the financial and human resources required to address the crisis, but needed stronger accountability, innovative thinking and a willingness to redesign systems that no longer meet the needs of the state.
“Lagos does not lack money or human capacity. What we lack is sufficient imagination, accountability and the willingness to redesign systems that are no longer fit for purpose,” he said.
