PHOTOS: Waste piles up on Lagos roads as collectors fail to show up

Major roads across several Lagos communities have been littered with waste following the Yuletide season.

TheCable had received reports that many private sector partnership (PSP) waste collectors engaged by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) have abandoned their duties.

As a result, many residents have resorted to dumping their waste at median points along major roads.

When TheCable visited Agbelekale-Command road at Alimosho LGA on Monday morning, waste dumped at the median point littered the road and filled the area with foul smell.

From Agbelekale junction to Command Secondary School, refuse has taken over the median points along the stretch of the road.

A resident who identified himself as Samuel told TheCable that the PSP waste collector had not come to the area in the last two weeks.

Samuel said the development forced residents and shop owners to drop their waste along the major road.

However, some hours later, a PSP collector came to pack the waste along the road.

When TheCable visited Ekoro road-Captain junction on Tuesday morning, the situation was not different, with the road littered with waste.

Areas such as Agege Pen Cinema and Ilamoye bus stop, Cele Ijesha along Apapa-Oshodi expressway were also dotted with uncollected waste.

At Magodo phase 2, several residents’ the waste bins of several were overflowing as PSP operators had not shown up for the past one week.

LAWMA REACTS 

In a chat with TheCable, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, the managing director of LAWMA, said dumping waste on road medians is “illegal and unacceptable” and that the agency has put measures in place to stop the trend.

He added that the agency is embarking on joint enforcement against illegal dumping, and immediate clearance and restoration to prevent the trend of dumping waste on road medians.

Gbadegesin said the agency takes claims of service gaps in the operations of PSP waste operators, adding that the operators are being monitored.

He disclosed that the agency terminated the contracts of 27 PSP operators in 2025 over “underperformance and reassignment of their slots to other companies”.

“First, let me be clear: dumping waste on road medians is illegal, dangerous, and unacceptable,” he said.

“Beyond the odour and visual blight, it creates traffic hazards, blocks drainage corridors and increases public-health risks- especially in a city with the scale of Lagos.

“We take claims of service gaps seriously. Our approach is to verify facts quickly and take quick action.

“LAWMA supervises PSP operators through a monitoring framework that includes field performance checks and escalation based on service delivery.

“Where any operator is found to be failing, whether due to operational lapses, equipment constraints, or non-compliance with assigned service standards, LAWMA applies corrective measures, including warnings, sanctions, and reallocation of service areas.

“To underscore that this is enforced in practice: in 2025, LAWMA terminated the contracts of 27 PSP operators for underperformance and reassigned their slots to other companies.

“In addition, 17 companies are currently on their final warning.” (The Cable)