The Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Layode, on Wednesday decried the indiscriminate dumping of refuse along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
Layode made the criticism while passing along the expressway in Badagry.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commissioner was forced to leave his vehicle to address residents and shop owners on the serious environmental implications of indiscriminate refuse dumping.
“People are dumping refuse indiscriminately, and as a responsible government, we cannot fold our arms and watch it.
“This is not hygienic. The Federal Government has just spent a huge amount of money to construct the expressway, which was inaugurated recently.
“Dumping of refuse on the expressway is not the best way to appreciate what the government has done for us in Badagry,” he said.
Layode stated that indiscriminate waste dumping could lead to erosion and flooding, as the waste blocks the drains.
He gave residents and shop owners within the area two days to clear the refuse.
Layode said: “If, at the end of the week, the waste is still here, I will be forced to order the demolition of shops located on the expressway.
“As a government, you can’t expect us to fold our arms and look at the situation like this.
“Badagry corridor is an international route, the waste is not giving us a good name as a country,” he said.
Responding, the residents pleaded with the commissioner and assured him that the waste would be cleared.
They urged him to make a waste disposal truck available in the area so that they could properly dispose of their refuse.
