LAGOS PLEDGES READINESS TO PARTNER EKITI ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

The Lagos State Government on Thursday pledged its readiness to partner with Ekiti State on environmental sustainability as it played host to the State’s delegates from the Environment sector.

Speaking while receiving the guests led by Commissioner for the Environment in Ekiti State, Mrs. Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe, her counterpart in Lagos State, Tokunbo Wahab said knowledge sharing is essential to development for any state that aspires to grow.

He reiterated that whatever success might have been achieved in the environment sector in Lagos today has only been achieved through the tenacity of the leaders. 

He said people are generally receptive to change, adding that the present campaign to sanitise the environment has received backlash from some people who see nothing wrong in a dirty and unorganised environment.

Wahab, who listed the Agencies under the supervision of the Ministry, said there is a synergy in place that has enabled a high level of cooperation in achieving ministerial goals, urging Ekiti to replicate the same.

He said the present administration is determined to migrate Lagos from the trajectory of a State with a dirty environment through sustained enforcement and a series of advocacy campaigns to stakeholders.

“It is a reset system like a child that is used to taking milk mixed with honey and water. When you try to change the meal to ordinary water he would resist but when it is for the good of the child, you would stand your ground, and that is leadership, taking him to where he ought to be” he said.

The Commissioner mentioned that enforcement is a key component that must be used to achieve set goals bearing in mind that when Enforcement is in place some residents will embrace the idea while some will resist the change, adding that when enforcement of Laws is not in place, development cannot thrive.

He encouraged the team from Ekiti to go round the Ministry and Agencies in the environmental sector of the state, rub minds with the officers on the ground and tap from their wealth of experience, adding that their presence is a reminder that the State’s Performance in the sector is worthy of emulation.

Earlier while welcoming the delegates, the Special Adviser on Environment Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu reiterated his belief that the process will be a knowledge-sharing experience for the two states, noting that the possibility of Lagos learning from the challenges and successes recorded in Ekiti should not be ruled out.

He said Lagos, in terms of land mass, migration and population, is confronted with a lot of challenges where lessons have been learnt and corrections made where necessary, adding that the team from Ekiti should explore all the advantages embedded in the trip to gather the information that will be useful when they return to their home state.

In his remarks, the Ekiti State delegates led by the Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe commended the strides achieved by Lagos State in the Environment Sector, saying that they are confident that whatever they can take away from the state will improve the environment sector in Ekiti State.

Part of the areas the delegates intend to learn from include Solid Waste Management, Recycling, Wastewater Management, Environmental regeneration and Conservation as well and Climate Change. 

They later had a meeting with officials of all the agencies of the Ministry, comparing notes before visiting some of the agencies.