A heated exchange has broken out between Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, and Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, over the state’s waste management challenges.
The disagreement started after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered an immediate scale-up of refuse evacuation across Lagos following the recent build-up of waste in several parts of the state.
In a statement, the governor said agencies including the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), and the Ministry of Environment had intensified efforts to clear the backlog.
According to him, additional trucks and personnel had been deployed, while round-the-clock operations were underway in affected areas.
Reacting on X, Rhodes-Vivour described the governor’s directive as an admission that the waste management system had failed.
He argued that Lagos residents do not need periodic emergency clean-up exercises but a system capable of preventing refuse from piling up in the first place.
“For years, Lagosians have lived with overflowing dumpsites, uncollected waste, blocked drains and worsening environmental conditions despite billions spent on environmental management,” he wrote.
“The fact that government now has to order an emergency scale-up after refuse has already taken over communities is a failure of leadership, not a solution.”
Wahab responded by highlighting the scale of waste management operations in Lagos, noting that the state generates about 13,000 tonnes of waste daily.
He said LAWMA and private sector operators evacuated roughly 418,500 tonnes of waste in May alone, averaging more than 13,000 tonnes every day.
“That operation involves hundreds of PSP operators, waste collection teams, disposal crews, street sweepers, enforcement officers, drivers, loaders, supervisors and monitoring staff working across one of the most complex cities in Africa,” Wahab said.
He added that waste evacuation efforts had recently been intensified, particularly in known blackspots across the state.
Unimpressed by the explanation, Rhodes-Vivour insisted that residents judge government performance by visible results rather than statistics.
“Impact is felt, not explained in 1,578 words,” he said.
He accused Wahab of failing in key environmental policies, including waste management and plastic regulation, while alleging that the commissioner had focused more on demolitions than solving environmental challenges.
Rhodes-Vivour also called for Wahab’s resignation, claiming he had lost the moral authority to remain in office.
In a strongly worded response, Wahab said he had no interest in engaging in personal attacks or political mudslinging.
The commissioner said his focus remained on supporting the Lagos State Government’s efforts to improve the welfare and safety of residents.
However, Wahab pushed back against being labelled a bigot. He referred to Rhodes-Vivour by his Igbo name, Chinedu, and shared screenshots of past social media posts in which the former governorship candidate appeared to express support for the now-proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the defunct Biafra Republic.
“I have no intention of engaging in personal attacks or trading insults with a political nomad driven by ignorance and needless hatred,” Wahab said.
“I wish you all the best.”
The exchange has since generated reactions online, with supporters of both men weighing in on the ongoing debate over governance, waste management and environmental conditions in
