The Lagos State Government has resumed its monthly environmental sanitation exercise on Saturday, ending an almost ten-year suspension of the exercise.
Mixed reactions greeted the reintroduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Lagos State, as many residents complied with movement restrictions but recorded limited participation in cleanup activities.
As part of efforts to promote a cleaner and healthier environment, the sanitation exercise, which now runs for two hours from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., marks a shift from the previous three-hour schedule held between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
Commercial activities were largely suspended across parts of the state as residents observed the restriction order. However, active participation in sanitation efforts remained low in several communities.
Residents of Ikoyi-Obalende area of the state could be observed on Saturday cleaning their surroundings. Major streets across the city were deserted during the movement restriction hours, with only a few enforcement officials and sanitation workers on the roads.
Fuel dispensing stations were shuttered. Commuters who took to roads during the period were stranded at bus stops as commercial vehicles stayed off roads in line with government directive.
Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the exercise in Iyana-Ipaja and Alaguntan/Alimosho areas, observed that shops and businesses remained closed in compliance with government directives.
While some residents cleaned their surroundings, many stayed indoors throughout the exercise. In spite of the restriction, a few food vendors operated within the Iyana-Ipaja market and nearby motor parks, selling to travellers and passengers waiting for movement restrictions to be lifted.
At several parks in Iyana-Ipaja, commuters were seen waiting patiently to continue their journeys, while some had already boarded buses ahead of the reopening of roads.
The usually busy Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway at Iyana-Ipaja appeared unusually quiet, with only minimal activity recorded. Some youths, however, took advantage of the reduced traffic to play football on the road.
Most residents remained indoors, with only a handful observed clearing gutters and cleaning their immediate surroundings.
Officials of the BRT monitoring and enforcement team were deployed to ensure compliance and maintain order.
