The Director, Monitoring Compliance and Enforcement, LASEPA, Mr Kayode Bello, in a statement on Sunday, said, “Our commitment to environmental enforcement is non-negotiable. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that those who pollute our environment for self-interest are held accountable.

“We firmly believe that robust enforcement of environmental regulations and laws is a critical step towards addressing pressing environmental issues, to serve as a deterrent to others  and further protect the right of innocent residents to a more conducive and friendly environment.”

Bello said LASEPA’s renewed commitment to environmental sustainability was in tandem with the vision of the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Tokunbo Wahab,  towards promoting a healthier environment and a better quality of life for Lagos residents, regardless of social status.

He also expressed his readiness to collaborate with other government agencies, local communities, and environmental stakeholders so as to enhance collective efforts in sustaining the planet.

He added that the agency would embark on aggressive public advocacy on the importance of environmental protection and the consequences of environmental violations.

The General Manager, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, made this known, according to a statement on Sunday, during the last management meeting for the year with senior members of the agency’s staff at Alausa, Ikeja.

Fasawe said the move was in tandem with the vision of the agency to increase its zonal offices to 20 by 2023 to tackle pollution in different parts of the state.

She said, “To effectively serve and reach out to larger society, we increased our zonal offices from four to 20 in a spate of four years. This noble move is to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and also improve response time.

“Like the existing ones, the new zonal offices will uphold the mandate of the agency and provide succour to citizens negatively affected by all forms of pollution in different parts of Lagos.

“There is the need to bring environmental regulation closer to Lagosians in response to the goal of COP27, which emphasises the urgent need to unite the world to tackle climate change. The additional three zonal offices are Mushin, Alimosho 3, and Kosofe and necessary equipment and manpower have been in place to facilitate the smooth running of these offices.”

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) has unveiled an environmental project tagged: “Eko Clean Air”, with the distribution of eco-friendly materials to residents of Itedo Community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the State.

In his address at the Eko Clean Air project unveiling, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the initiative will be replicated across all the Local Government Areas of the State to improve the quality of air in Lagos State.

“This campaign is part of the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda of the present administration, under the Health and Environment Pillar, with the objective of reducing health inequality, improving quality of life, promoting a friendly and healthy lifestyle as well as creating a source of income for a lot of people with consideration for a better and sustainable environment”, he said.

Bello, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr. Tajudeen Gaji, commended LASEPA for its proactive approach towards environmental protection while describing its partners on the project as eco-friendly organisations who are conscious of the environment and the health of Lagosians.

In her address, the General Manager of LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, stated that the “Eko Clean Air” project, among others, entails the process of exchanging trash for cash and the collection of different types of wastes such as pet bottles, used electronics and black oil at various designated points.

She enlightened the community members on the dangers of non-degradable plastics and uncoordinated waste oil disposal, stressing that the wastes if properly handled, can be exchanged for cash and recycled into other usable items.

“We considered it necessary at LASEPA to bring this message of Eko Clean Air to this community following research carried out within this area. We want the people of Lagos to know that there is nothing called waste because what is considered waste is someone else’s treasured raw materials”, Fasawe added

The General Manager assured that another assessment of the air quality of the community would be conducted in the next four weeks to ascertain the impact of the eco-friendly materials distributed to the residents as well as the effects of the advocacy.

According to her, the Eko Clean Air project was an intervention by the government and some sustainability advocate partners to address air pollution, promote a circular economy and also empower the vulnerable members of the society for sustainable development.

Key stakeholders in the waste sector, including the Managing Director of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni; the Managing Director, Lagos State Lottery Board, Mr. Bashir Abiola Are; Executive Vice-President, Oando Clean Energy, Mr. Ademola Odunbanjo; Director of Sustainability and Communication, Coca-Cola Company, Amaka Onyemelukwe amongst others, pleaded with the residents to take ownership of the project while maintaining good environmental attitude.

The unveiling of the “Eko Clean Air” project by LASEPA involved the distribution of 500 cooking gas stoves with content, 400 water bottles, 400 rechargeable lights and 400 reusable use bags to community members, commissioning of a Community Borehole and exchange of pet bottles, abandoned electrical appliances and used mechanical oil, among others, for cash rewards.

One of the beneficiaries of the ‘Trash for Cash’ exercise, 71-year-old Mrs. Monisola Ajayi-Badru could not hide her joy as she received a sum of ₦100,000 from LASEPA in exchange for some bags of pet bottles.

Ajayi-Badru, who claimed that the pet bottles were picked from the community, encouraged residents of Itedo to embrace the initiative as a way to improve their standards of living by making money from trash.

Itedo Community, located off Freedom Way, along Lekki Phase I, is a developing community inhabited by petty traders, artisans, fishermen, farmers and school children.

This was disclosed in a document made available by the agency on Sunday.

LASEPA, in the document, noted that an initiative themed, ‘Eko Clean Air,’ has been organised by the agency to tackle air pollution and it identified the transportation sector as the highest contribution to air pollution.

It read, “ECA is an advocacy and behavioural modelling driving initiative which leverages a pan-stakeholder, bottom-up and inclusive model, towards raising the level of awareness, pro-action, and collaboration for monitoring and mitigating air pollution in Lagos.

“Air pollution is responsible for over 30, 000 premature deaths in Lagos in 2021. This is why we are piloting various projects under this framework towards achieving our climate action targets and in keeping with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s mandate on environmental protection.

“The World Bank in 2018 identified the transport sector as the highest contribution to air pollution and to this end, the agency is working towards hybrid pilot bus in LASEPA, hybrid Bus Rapid Transit buses, and will collaborate with the Ministry of Transportation, Lagos Computerised Vehicle Inspection Service and the Federal Road Safety Corps on the plan to clamp down on vehicular emissions.”

A source in LASEPA, when contacted by our correspondent on Sunday, added that the agency had held an advocacy walk and established six air quality monitoring stations to assess air pollution.

We also have six air quality monitoring stations at Ikeja, Lekki, Jankara-Island, Ikorodu, Akoka and Abesan to alert for unfriendly air pollution, and aside from the awareness walk and the ECA initiative, we have also commenced aggressive advocacy, knowledge attitude and practice survey for behavioural change among residents,” the source said.

The General Manager, LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, had earlier disclosed that 22,500 children were among the 30,000 people that died, representing 75 per cent.

The Lagos government gave the charge through its environmental agencies in a statement signed by the Chief Public Affairs Officer, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs. Bola Ajao, on Friday.

The agencies included LASEPA, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency, and the Lagos State Parks and Gardens.

Ajao said that the agencies were ready to engage the youths on environmental actions that would further expose them to the vulnerability of the environment, unfriendly environmental practices, and the need to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

She said that the heads of the agencies organised an advocacy talk and quiz competition for students of some state public schools, to test their knowledge on basic environmental topics.

According to her, the event is to felicitate with the oldest state-owned university, Lagos State University, on the occasion of its 25th convocation ceremony.

She said that it was to commemorate the achievement of the citadel of learning with environmental friendly awareness programme, to reawaken the consciousness of taking actions against pollution.

Ajao said that various programmes had been embarked upon by the state government, for the purpose of directing the attention of school pupils to environmental sustainability at a tender age.

In recognition of the importance of our youths as agents of change, who need to urgently show commitment through their lifestyles and actions to tackle global environmental problems.

“This programme was collectively put together as a single voice, confronted with multiple common challenges attributed to unfriendly practices, that if not addressed, may lead to natural disasters.

“Young people constitute a large part of the world’s population, hence, the need to inculcate good habits in them and imbibe the culture of responsibilities and wise use of the environment.

“Therefore, the move is to reaffirm our collective responsibility to environmental education and youth participation in environmental protection,” she said.

The quiz competition which had students drawn from various schools around LASU/Ojo and its environs produced four winners, which included Happiness Omijie, Bridget Azurundu, Divine Okafor, all of Iba Housing Estate, and Esther Ayomide of Army Cantonment Girls School.

The winners were presented with gifts and cash prizes, while other participants were rewarded with eco-friendly products such as reusable bags, multiple use bottles, plant seedlings and degradable refuse bags.

Briefing journalists at her office in Alausa, Ikeja, the General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, said the agency received calls from concerned residents about the unfriendly environmental activities taking place at Salvation Avenue, off Ikorodu, Owode Onirin, Lagos.

She said a team from the agency which visited the place was refused entry and that the security guards guarding the place claimed the premises was private property.

She said “We, however, discovered during our second visit that the building which sits atop four plots of land with unknown address housed an illegal scrap yard that engages in nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, repackaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals, as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste within the premises. It’s worrisome to note that people operate unlawfully in a residential environment unchallenged by neighbours. Individual selfish interests must not be allowed to supersede communal benefits. We must be mindful of who we are allowing into our neighbourhoods and consequences of our actions on the society.”