Lagos Refuse Crisis: Is Hamzat Responsible, or Should LAWMA and PSP Operators Take the Blame?

I saw comments blaming Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat for refuse across Lagos, so I checked the structure. This is not about party politics. Sanitation is a serious Lagos issue, and the facts matter. LAWMA is supervised by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, led by Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab. LAWMA’s managing director is Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, while about 420 PSP operators handle household waste collection. If a PSP operator fails to visit a street, LAWMA and the Environment Ministry are responsible for regulating and sanctioning that operator, not the Deputy Governor’s office. Hamzat said Lagos now generates about 17,000 tonnes of waste daily, above the 13,000 tonnes earlier projected. He linked the problem to broken-down PSP trucks, high operating costs and delays in the delivery of new trucks. He also accepted that government should have acted earlier. LAWMA recently withdrew the licences of six poorly performing PSP operators, while the state says more compactor trucks are being introduced. There is collective responsibility in government, but blame should follow specific decisions and offices. The real question is whether LAWMA, the Environment Ministry and PSP operators have done enough to match Lagos’ growing volume of waste.

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