Sanwo-Olu Orders Mass Clearance of Illegal Structures, Refuse Dumps on Lagos-Badagry Expressway

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has issued a final warning to traders and other illegal occupants operating on the median of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, announcing that a large-scale demolition and clearance exercise will begin next week.

The operation will cover the entire stretch from Orile-Iganmu through Iyana Iba, Lagos State University (LASU) and Okokomaiko, as the state government intensifies efforts to reclaim the corridor and protect ongoing infrastructure investments.

Speaking with journalists during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Surulere on Saturday, Sanwo-Olu said the government had exhausted all efforts to persuade occupants to vacate the highway median voluntarily.

"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," the governor said.

He stressed that the median was built as part of the highway infrastructure and was never intended to serve as a marketplace, residential area or location for makeshift structures.

"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," he added.

Sanwo-Olu said the state would deploy thousands of enforcement personnel and the necessary equipment to ensure the exercise was carried out successfully.

"We are coming with all the necessary manpower and equipment. We will remain there until the job is completed. No one should expect any exemption," he warned.

The governor also disclosed that security personnel would be stationed permanently along the corridor after the clearance operation to prevent illegal reoccupation.

He said the Lagos State Government was determined to prevent the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, one of Nigeria's busiest international gateway routes, from deteriorating into an unregulated settlement.

Beyond the demolition exercise, Sanwo-Olu outlined additional measures aimed at improving waste management across the state.

He announced that the government had ordered 150 new waste compactors to strengthen refuse evacuation, with the first batch expected to arrive within the next three months.

According to him, the state is also working with local government councils to procure smaller compactor trucks capable of accessing inner streets and estates where conventional waste trucks cannot operate efficiently.

The governor further revealed that Lagos was investing in a modern Material Recovery and Recycling Facility with the capacity to process about 4,250 metric tonnes of waste daily.

The facility, expected to begin operations next year, will convert waste into reusable materials while reducing pressure on landfill sites.

Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that some Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators were facing operational challenges arising from rising costs and inadequate equipment but assured residents that the government was implementing measures to improve waste collection services.

He appealed to residents to support the system by paying their waste disposal bills promptly.

"Waste management is not the responsibility of government alone. It is a collective responsibility. Residents must also play their part by paying for waste collection services. That is what enables the PSP operators to continue providing efficient services," he said.

The governor also encouraged parents to instill proper sanitation habits in their children, describing environmental cleanliness as essential to building a healthier and more sustainable Lagos.

Meanwhile, the state's Head of Service, Olabode Agoro, said the monthly environmental sanitation exercise had become a permanent initiative aimed at restoring environmental discipline across Lagos.

He urged residents to embrace proper waste disposal practices and avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse, noting that government efforts alone would not be enough to keep the city clean.

During Saturday's exercise, enforcement officials sealed two residential buildings on Olorunfunmi Street in Oworonshoki over unsanitary conditions and inspected a distressed one-storey building on Akewusola Salami Street for possible structural defects.

Officials also inspected several streets in Kosofe Local Government Area and directed owners of structures obstructing drainage channels to remove them.