The monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Lagos State returned strongly on Saturday, recording high compliance across monitored areas, including Agege and Obalende in Eti-Osa.
The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, who led monitoring efforts in Obalende, expressed satisfaction with residents’ participation.
Sanwo-Olu described the exercise as a positive start following its recent reinstatement.
She noted that traders stayed off the streets while citizens actively engaged in cleaning their surroundings, adding that the turnout was encouraging for a first outing since the exercise was revived.
The exercise, which was holding on last Saturday of every month between 6:30 and 8:30am, had been suspended since November 2016 and was reintroduced in March this year.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu urged residents to embrace cleanliness as a daily responsibility rather than a monthly obligation.
She harped on the importance of instilling environmental awareness early, particularly among students who also participated in the exercise.
Major roads across the state were largely deserted as residents stayed back at home to be part of the exercise.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, also praised residents for what he described as overwhelming compliance, putting participation levels at over 98 percent.
He said the response reflected a renewed civic commitment to maintaining a cleaner and safer Lagos, adding that the government deliberately adopted a community-driven model to encourage long-term behavioural change.
Wahab also disclosed plans to introduce a ranking system to reward the cleanest local government areas, with recognitions expected in the coming week.
Officials say the revived sanitation exercise forms part of broader efforts to promote public health, prevent disease outbreaks, and restore a strong culture of cleanliness across Lagos communities.
