Lagos seeks more investors in waste management

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said it required more investors in waste management to further improve the environmental sanitation of the mega city.
Ben Akabueze, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, made the disclosure in Lagos at a roundtable business meeting organised by the Sam Ohuabunwa Foundation for Economic Empowerment.
Akabueze said that the need for proper waste management was imminent due to the growing population of the state.
He said: “Lagos generates about 10,000 metric tonnes of waste per day.
“Lagos has a challenge of population, which is more than some of the smallest countries in Africa.
“This is the reason why we need a boost in the Public Private Partnership that we have laid down in that sector.
“Lagos needs not less than 1,000 waste trucks and presently we have just about 700 out of which 200 are most times unavailable or faulty.
“We therefore need more investors to partner with the government in the provision of more trucks and others.”
Akabueze also decried the major environmental pollution that come from trucks that enter into Lagos daily.
He said: “Eighty per cent of the nation’s freight is managed in Lagos while about 5,000 trucks come into Lagos daily.
“All these constitute environmental pollution and we are not getting any portion of the taxes for maintenance.”