The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, has called on residents of Lagos State to embrace responsible waste disposal practices as proper handling of waste is central to achieving a cleaner, liveable, and sustainable city.
Dr. Gbadegesin made the call on Saturday, January 18, 2026, while featuring on Sunrise Daily, a flagship programme on Channels Television, where he spoke on the realities of waste management in a rapidly urbanising city and the shared responsibilities required to keep Lagos clean and liveable.
He said that LAWMA had continued ongoing waste evacuation and management operations across the state as it was strengthening routine collection services and embarking on persistent clearing of identified flashpoints, which resulted from indiscriminate dumping and poor waste handling that continued to undermine progress in the sector.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin
Encouraging the adoption of basic sorting practices across board, the LAWMA boss emphasised the importance of waste sorting at source, explaining that separating recyclable materials from general waste would improve collection efficiency, support recycling activities, and reduce the burden on landfill sites.
He highlighted LAWMA’s growing focus on waste recycling, noting that waste should no longer be seen solely as refuse but as a resource with economic value, adding that recycling initiatives would lead to the creation of employment opportunities, encourage private sector participation, and contribute to environmental protection.
Speaking further, he advocated adopting a circular economy approach to waste management, in which materials are recovered, reused, and recycled, offering significant economic and business opportunities while reducing environmental impact, as opposed to the prevailing linear system of collection and disposal.
Stressing LAWMA’s commitment to upholding environmental laws and ensuring accountability, Dr. Gbadegesin highlighted the impact of the authority’s enforcement efforts, noting that 400 cases of environmental infractions were prosecuted in 2025, including a recent instance in which a man caught dumping indiscriminately is now serving a jail term.
He called on residents to support these enforcement efforts by shunning indiscriminate dumping and reporting violations promptly as citizens’ cooperation remains essential to maintaining cleanliness and order across the state.
He reaffirmed LAWMA’s commitment to working with all stakeholders to strengthen waste management systems and promote a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Lagos State.
A coalition of over 300 CSOs under the aegis of the Climate and Sustainable Development Network (CSDevNet) and partners have commended the Presidential Executive Order on the Prohibition of Exportation of Wood and Allied Products, 2025.
CSDevNet and the United Youths 4 Environmental Sustainability Initiatives (UY4ESI) welcome the Presidential Executive Order, describing it as a significant and timely policy intervention. The pair believes that, if implemented with integrity, coordination and social safeguards, the Order has the potential to slow Nigeria’s accelerating forest loss, strengthen climate and environmental governance, and advance a more just and resilient development pathway.
Wood export
In a statement made available to EnviroNews on Sunday, January 18, 2026, they described Nigeria’s forests, wetlands and other natural ecosystems as critical national assets that underpin climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, food security, livelihoods and social stability.t
The groups pointed out that heir rapid degradation; driven by commercial logging, weak regulation, cross-border trade, and the concentration of resource benefits among a few powerful actors has disproportionately affected rural and forest-dependent communities.
“These impacts are already evident in worsening floods, desertification, land degradation, habitat loss, rising food insecurity, and the increasing resource-related conflicts. In this context, the Executive Order should be understood not simply as a trade restriction; but as a climate justice and environmental security measure aimed at protecting shared ecological resources,” they submitted.
CSDevNet and UY4ESI emphasise that an export ban on its own will not stop deforestation.
“Without strong enforcement, transparent governance and coordinated action across federal, state and local levels, there is a real risk that logging pressures will shift to domestic markets, informal supply chains, and illegal cross-border routes. Past experience shows that poorly enforced bans often penalise small-scale actors while allowing large commercial interests to adapt, evade regulation or continue operations with impunity. Preventing this outcome requires deliberate policy choices that confront the political economy of timber extraction and trade in Nigeria.
“We therefore stress the urgent need for robust, fair and transparent enforcement mechanisms. This includes clear roles for Customs, port authorities, border agencies and state forestry institutions, supported by public reporting on seizures, prosecutions, and forest monitoring data.
“Enforcement must be even-handed and resistant to elite capture, ensuring that the burden of compliance does not fall disproportionately on vulnerable communities while powerful actors remain untouched. Equally important is federal – state coordination, recognising that effective forest governance depends heavily on state and local authorities. Without such coordination, the Executive Order risks uneven implementation.”
The groups noted that, beyond enforcement, the success of the policy would ultimately depend on how it addresses the livelihood and energy realities of millions of Nigerians.
“Fuelwood, charcoal production and wood-based trade remain central to household survival and cooking energy for a large segment of the population. Abrupt restrictions, without affordable and accessible alternatives, risk increasing energy poverty, household costs, and illegal markets. A just and effective transition therefore requires planned, financed, and time-bound interventions that expand access to clean cooking solutions, sustainable energy options, and climate-resilient livelihoods.”
CSDevNet National Network Coordinator, Abu Stephen, noted: “This Executive Order is an important step toward climate justice, but its impact will depend on how seriously we address implementation and equity. Protecting forests is inseparable from protecting people. Enforcement must be transparent and fair, and communities that currently depend on wood-based livelihoods must be supported with viable alternatives that are affordable, accessible and dignified.”
UY4ESI Executive Director, Musa Ibrahim, added: “This policy presents an opportunity to invest in clean energy alternatives, sustainable agriculture and local innovation. These investments are not optional; they are essential to ensuring that environmental protection goes hand in hand with improved livelihoods and long-term resilience.”
Practical alternatives, added CSDevNet and UY4ESI, already exist. For instance, UY4ESI’s community outreach and training on efficient briquette production and clean cook stoves, supported by CSDevNet demonstrate how pressure on forests can be reduced while improving household health and income.
In parallel, CSDevNet’s sustainable agriculture and soil restoration interventions show that climate-resilient livelihoods can be scaled when supported by the right policies and investments, stressed the group, adding: “What is now required is the political will and financing to move these solutions from pilot initiatives to national impact?”
CSDevNet and UY4ESI called on the federal and state governments, development partners and the private sector to treat the Executive Order as the starting point of a broader reform agenda.
“Such an agenda must integrate forest protection with clean energy access, sustainable land-use planning, livelihood diversification, and community-led conservation, underpinned by transparency and accountability.
“As civil society actors, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting implementation, monitoring outcomes, and advocating for policies that strengthen responsible environmental governance, advance climate justice and secure a resilient sustainable for Nigeria,” stated the groups.
Greenpeace continues to promote an anti-fossil fuel agenda, while relying on the very fuels they seek to eliminate, according to the African Energy Chamber
Greenpeace has announced that its Rainbow Warrior ship will dock at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa this January, bringing with it a quintessential example of salt-crusted irony.
Greenpeace, which actively protests against oil companies, will use petroleum-powered cars to get there, wearing synthetic, oil-based clothing while taking pictures and tweeting from phones made from critical minerals and oil – the very products of the industry they want to dismantle.
The Greenpeace “Rainbow Warrior” ship
Used as a tool to protest the very energy resources that stand to lift Africa out of energy poverty, Greenpeace is offering a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” to tour the ship. But as their ship docks in one of Africa’s harbours, one must ask: why does Greenpeace’s narrative for Africa’s energy future demand absolute restraint while its own global operations continue to rely on the very fossil fuels it insists African nations must leave in the ground?
While Greenpeace routinely urges African nations to leave their fossil resources undeveloped, its own operations underscore the impracticality of such views. The organisation’s flagship vessel Rainbow Warrior is frequently cited as a symbol of clean activism – yet its design tells a more inconvenient truth. Despite incorporating wind-assisted sails, battery systems and efficiency-focused architecture, the ship still relies on diesel-electric engines powered by marine gas oil – a refined fossil fuel – for propulsion, maneuvering and operational reliability. Greenpeace itself acknowledges that wind power merely reduces fuel consumption rather than eliminating it altogether.
This reality exposes a clear double standard: while Greenpeace accepts fossil fuels as a necessary operational compromise for its global campaigns, it simultaneously campaigns for Africa to forgo oil and gas development entirely – resources that underpin electricity access, industrialization and fiscal stability for hundreds of millions of people.
The evidence from Greenpeace’s own vessel confirms what African energy policymakers have long argued: fossil fuels remain structurally embedded in modern systems and demanding that Africa abandon them – while NGOs continue to depend on them – is neither honest nor equitable.
“A wealthy western NGO parading Africa in a fancy boat, eating caviar and goat cheese, while drinking matcha with almond milk, telling Africans to stop oil and gas is shocking to say the least. It kind of takes your breath away. It gives Chutzpah a new meaning,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber.
With over 600 million people living without access to electricity, 900 million people living without access to clean cooking solutions and millions dying from biomass-associated health risks, the continent cannot afford to leave its oil and gas resources in the ground. But organisations such as Greenpeace continue to oppose this strategy, launching attacks on projects, deterring investments and impacting any meaningful progress to make energy poverty history.
By blocking seismic surveys in South Africa and lobbying against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), these foreign-funded NGOs are engaging in a form of economic sabotage. They are effectively telling Africa: “You may have the resources to power your own industrialisation, but you are not allowed to use them.” Projects such as EACOP offer a lifeline for many communities in East Africa.
The pipeline will not only transport crude from Uganda’s oilfields to international markets via Tanzania, but generate the revenue that can transform local infrastructure, power homes and develop strong, resilient economies. The same can be said for South Africa – home to significant offshore and onshore hydrocarbon resources that could, if extracted, stabilise the economy, eliminate load-shedding and power the country for decades to come.
“If fossil fuels remain necessary for Greenpeace to run its own operations, then it is neither credible nor justifiable to demand that Africa leave its resources undeveloped while millions remain without electricity, jobs or industrial opportunity,” Ayuk notes, adding “Africa needs energy to industrialise and create jobs. There is more dignity in work than in accepting foreign aid. The main goal of Greenpeace and its western funders is to keep Africa underdeveloped and in energy poverty. We must not let them.”
The next time you see a Greenpeace boat on the horizon, remember: that ship is a monument to the very industry they want to destroy. They are enjoying the fruits of the energy industry while trying to deny those same fruits to a continent that needs them most.
“The African Energy Chamber believes Africans should make their own when it comes to oil development, not foreign NGO’S. Most Africans without electricity can’t even afford the Greenpeace boat ride. Think about that,” he concludes.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion, misapplication, and criminal breach of trust involving Federal Government intervention funds released to Oyo State Government following the January 2024 Bodija explosion in Ibadan.
In a petition signed by HEDA Chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, and addressed to EFCC Chairman, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, the civil society organisation alleged that the Federal Government released ₦30 billion to the Oyo State Government for victims’ compensation, reconstruction, and emergency relief after the deadly explosion that claimed lives and destroyed properties.
Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State
HEDA noted that the release of the funds was first publicly alleged by former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, during a national television broadcast, and later reiterated in a statement on 28 December 2025. Fayose subsequently released documents, including a memo from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation dated 29 August 2024, which he claimed showed evidence of the fund release.
According to the civil group, only about ₦4.5 billion intervention funds was reportedly applied to relief and compensation for victims, while the entire N30b was unaccounted for. The organisation further alleged that the fund was held in a commercial bank at interest for over a year without public disclosure by the Oyo State Government, leaving the utilisation and status of the funds unclear.
“We at HEDA expressed concern that the state government had allegedly failed to provide transparent public disclosure or a comprehensive account of the total intervention funds received, how they were spent, and the status of any unspent balance.”
“These allegations raise serious concerns bordering on corruption, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, criminal breach of trust, and possible money laundering, all of which fall within the statutory mandate of the EFCC.” Suraju added.
While noting that Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution grants immunity from prosecution to a sitting governor, HEDA stressed that such immunity does not prevent investigations, particularly regarding public funds and accountability.
HEDA therefore called on the EFCC to conduct a thorough, impartial, and professional investigation into the receipt, management, and utilisation of all Federal Government intervention funds released to Oyo State in connection with the January 2024 Ibadan explosion.
The organisation said the petition was submitted in good faith and in the overriding public interest, urging the anti-graft agency to act urgently to uphold public confidence and accountability in the management of public resources.
The Abundance of Hope Initiative (AHI), an Abuja-based civil society organisation (CSO), has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal College of Forestry, Jos, to strengthen collaboration in tree planting, research, and environmental sustainability. The Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, is the designated thematic area.
The landmark agreement, signed on January 16, 2026, at the Provost’s Office, establishes cooperation in key areas like: Supply of Seedlings, Tree Planting Support Services, Research & Development, and Capacity Building & Technical Support.
Officials of AHI and the College of Forestry at the signing of the MoU
Led by Amb. Lambo Hosea (Director of Media and Communications) and Miss Sandra Gyang (Team Lead, Training and Research), the AHI team reaffirmed its commitment to restoring degraded lands and advancing climate action across Nigeria.
The agreement provides a framework for joint implementation of tree planting, waste management, environmental education and sustainability programmes aimed at addressing the growing challenges of climate change.
Presenting an overview of the project, Ms. Gyang explained that planting for the climate is a comprehensive action initiative focused on mitigating climate change through large scale tree planting.
According to her, the project targets the planting of 1 million drought-resistant trees, establishment of eco-resource hub, students’ green clubs and the integration of technology to promote innovation.
Dr Mailumo Sambo, Provost, Federal College of Forestry, sees the MoU as a laudable initiative that aligns with the core mandate of the research institute. He assured that the College had the capacity and institutional experience to handle afforestation projects, stressing that tree planting remained the most important scientific response to environmental degradation.
“Together, we’re planting not just trees, but hope for generations to come,” submitted the AHI.
Stakeholders have stepped up efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change through sensitisation and demonstration of clean cooking technologies at a market fair in Abuja.
The Sensitisation and Demonstration of Clean Cooking Technologies was organised by the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, in collaboration with other stakeholders on Saturday, January 17, 2026.
Country Director, Nigeria Solar Sister, Ms. Chioma Ome, said it was important to eliminate unhealthy cooking habits to safeguard public health and reduce the impact of climate change.
Country Director, Nigeria Solar Sister, Ms. Chioma Ome
She said the use of efficient cooking stoves significantly reduced environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
“The use of efficient cooking stoves reduces any impact on climate change. Cooking Technologies helps to reduce climate change challenges.
“This efficient cooking stoves use very little amount of charcoal by 70 per cent which makes it an adaptation mechanism,” she said.
She expressed concern that unhealthy cooking practices remained prevalent in both urban and rural areas, with many households still relying on open fires and three-stone cooking stands.
Ome emphasised the need for Nigerians to adopt clean and efficient cooking technologies.
“It is important that we do market fair like this to sensitise the public on the dangers of open-fire cooking, traditional cooking, and expose them to healthier forms of cooking.
“People need to be aware that their mode of cooking is not healthy for them. This clean cooking technologies reduce finances, it is safe, good, and affordable and is even consuming finance from them,” she added.
She added that although the stoves had an upfront cost, they were cheaper in the long run when compared with the health and environmental costs of traditional cooking methods.
Ms. Onyeka Ugwulebor, a representative of Roshan Renewables, described clean cooking technologies as welcome innovations that many Nigerians were eager to adopt.
“We have affordable stoves here and I believe that a lot of people want to rush to get, have such opportunity at this moment and grab them.
“For Roshan stoves, the cheapest is N7,000 and the highest is N25,000. So it is easy to buy and easy to use.
Ugwulebor said that the stoves were smokeless, environmentally friendly and affordable, adding that they consumed fewer charcoal briquettes and were easy to use without posing health risks to users.
Charcoal briquettes are compressed blocks of biomass (like wood waste, palm kernel shells, or sawdust) mixed with a binder (like starch) and pressed into uniform shapes.
This provides a consistent, long-burning and often smokeless fuel for cooking, heating and industrial uses, offering an efficient alternative to firewood or lump charcoal.
Young climate advocate, Tolulope Gbenro, in partnership with Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), organised a corp climate literacy train-the-trainers workshop for 14 corp members in Abuja. The initiative is part of the Eco-champions programme supported by SOS Children’s Village Nigeria.
At the event held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, in Abuja, Ms. Tolulope Gbenro, the founder of the initiative, HONE NYSC, shared insights into the motivation behind the project. According to her, it was inspired by the need to help beneficiaries understand the fundamentals of climate change.
Participants at Tolulope Gbenro’s train-the-trainers climate literacy workshop for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Abuja, which was organised in collaboration with the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI).
Drawing on her personal experience during her service year in Ilorin, Kwara State’s capital, the environmental rights campaigner used a variety of analogies, including a covered cooking pot, to explain the negative impact of greenhouse gases and how they cause climate change.
Her session on climate change in Nigeria provided information on the nation’s specific impacts, how they alter harmattan patterns and increase flooding. Additionally, it revealed how these greenhouse gases disrupt agricultural production, which eventually leads to the incessant hike in the prices of food and some health challenges that many people experience but are not aware are caused by these effects.
In the end, her experience equipped the participants with elementary climate literacy skills on how to counter misinformation and apathy in the global climate dialogue.
Mr. David Gabriel, the national programme manager of SOS Children’s Village Nigeria, asked the corp members to be environmental custodians by initiating projects that promote the safety and inclusion of all children, particularly the most vulnerable.
“This underscored the humanitarian core of climate literacy,” he stated.
His presentation at the meeting provided a powerful ethical framing that emphasised the link between environmental degradation and child rights issues. It also drew the participants’ attention to how these issues encourage the displacement of people from their ancestral homes, prevent access to education, and create other forms of vulnerability.
In the same vein, Mr. Chima Okoli, one of the facilitators at the event, tasked the attendees to see themselves as “sparks” who would ignite action in their places of primary assignment, using storytelling and local advocacy to turn awareness into tangible projects like community gardens and waste management systems.
Speaking on the theme “Mobilising Grassroots Action,” he stressed that sustainable change begins with local ownership, referring to climate action as a grassroots movement.
Other presentations at the programme focused on strategic engagements, cultural sensitivity, and power mapping within communities to identify key influencers, as well as methods for co-creating solutions rather than imposing them.
Furthermore, the sessions stressed the need for a step-by-step guide on initiating school-based action, such as forming Eco-clubs, setting up a waste sorting station with labelled bins, planning a safe community clean-up with waivers, and launching an “Adopt-a-Tree” programme.
The career-focused session delivered by Chizoba Nzeakor mapped the landscape of climate careers in policy, technology, finance, and communication. It provided strategic advice on skill specialisation and portfolio building through documentation and professional networking to transition passion into a viable profession.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the end of the training described it as extremely empowering.
According to Michael Onoja, the exercise simplified climate science in a form that improves knowledge and fosters real-life actions.
For Kave Blessing, the engagement was superlatively detailed, and she pledged to leverage the opportunity to accelerate climate action and impact her community.
Finally, the workshop concluded with a comprehensive programme implementation segment, reviewing deliverables, reporting templates, presentation of certificates, BBYDI climate champions flashcards and schedules for follow-up virtual sessions.
The next phase of the project promises to concentrate on how to empower over 400 young Nigerians through the step-down training that will be implemented by the fellows.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says aid cuts have pushed at least 1.2 million people in Northeast Nigeria deeper into hunger.
The warning on Friday, January 16, 2026, cited the Cadre Harmonisé, the regional equivalent of Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). which rates food insecurity on a scale from one to five.
IPC levels range up to catastrophic famine, helping governments and agencies plan emergency responses.
Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)
“In Nigeria, funding shortfalls last year forced WFP to scale down nutrition programmes, affecting more than 300,000 children.
“Malnutrition levels in several northern states have deteriorated from ‘serious’ to ‘critical,’” the agency said..
The UN agency said it would reach only 72,000 people in February, down from 1.3 million assisted during the 2025 lean season.
Across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are expected to face crisis-level hunger, or worse, during the June to August lean season.
It projects 13 million children will suffer malnutrition this year, while over three million people face emergency food insecurity – more than double the 2020 figure.
WFP regretted that funding cuts continue in spite of rising violence and displacement in the region.
Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger account for 77 per cent of regional food insecurity, according to WFP.
The latest figures show 15,000 people in Borno are at risk of catastrophic hunger for the first time in nearly a decade.
Conflict, displacement, and economic turmoil drive hunger, but funding cuts are now pushing communities beyond their coping capacity.
“The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region.
“As needs outpace funding, so too does the risk of young people falling into desperation,” said Sarah Longford, WFP Deputy Regional Director.
WFP urgently requires over $453 million in the next six months to continue humanitarian assistance across the region.
Meanwhile, WFP also warned that more than half a million vulnerable people in Cameroon risk losing assistance in the coming weeks.
In Mali, areas receiving reduced food rations saw a nearly 65 per cent surge in acute hunger, compared with a 34 per cent decrease where full rations were provided.
Continued insecurity disrupts supply lines to major cities, leaving 1.5 million of the country’s most vulnerable at risk of crisis-level hunger.
WFP stressed that adequate funding is vital for operations that improve food security across West and Central Africa.
Teams have helped rehabilitate 300,000 hectares of farmland, supporting over four million people in more than 3,400 villages.
Programmes also include school meals, nutrition, capacity building, seasonal aid, and infrastructure development to stabilise local economies and reduce aid dependency.
“To break the cycle of hunger for future generations, we need a paradigm shift in 2026,” Longford said.
She urged governments and partners to increase investment in preparedness, anticipatory action, and resilience-building to empower local communities.
The Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) has announced the confirmation of distinguished African Heads of State for its 2026 edition, reinforcing the Summit’s status as Africa’s most authoritative and impactful platform for energy dialogue, policy coordination, and investment mobilisation.
Among the confirmed leaders are Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The Summit will be hosted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who will serve as Chief Host.
Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia
“The confirmation of distinguished African Heads of State for NIES 2026 is a powerful affirmation of the Summit’s credibility, relevance, and growing global influence. NIES continues to serve as a trusted platform where leadership, policy, and investment converge to shape Africa’s energy future,” said Dr. James Shindi, Chief Executive Officer, Brevity Anderson/Project Director, NIES.
Now in its 9th edition, the Nigeria International Energy Summit is the only oil and gas industry event officially endorsed by the Federal Government of Nigeria, a distinction that underscores its strategic national importance and its central role in shaping Nigeria’s and Africa’s energy future.
NIES 2026 will also convene distinguished heads of delegation and senior government officials from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, alongside leaders of international energy organisations; chief executives of global and indigenous energy companies; development finance institutions; and representatives of host communities. This broad-based participation reflects the Summit’s commitment to inclusive, multi-stakeholder engagement across the global energy value chain.
The Summit further acknowledges the critical role of its strategic partners, including international oil companies, national oil companies, global service providers, financial institutions, and multilateral development partners. Their sustained engagement has been instrumental in positioning NIES as a premier platform for energy policy dialogue, investment facilitation, and cross-border collaboration in Africa.
Scheduled to hold in Abuja from February 2 to 5, 2026, the Summit will convene under the theme “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future.” NIES 2026 will advance bold ideas, forge strategic partnerships, and deliver practical, investable solutions to strengthen energy security, drive economic growth, and support sustainable development – across Africa and beyond.
“Our objective is clear: to translate ambition into action and ensure that energy remains a driver of stability, opportunity, and shared prosperity for Africa and beyond,” said Kunle Odusola-Stevenson, NIES Conference Producer.
The Nigeria International Energy Summit is an annual, high-level convening platform bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, investors, development partners, and host communities to shape Africa’s energy future through strategic dialogue, collaboration, and actionable outcomes.
The Lagos State Government has commenced on-site assessment of informal spaces across key corridors of the state, beginning with the Lekki–Ajah axis, as part of deliberate efforts to ensure orderly, safe, and sustainable management of such spaces.
The assessment was led recently by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide; alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Survey Matters, Ayokunnu Adesina; the Permanent Secretary, Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire; the General Manager, Lagos State Informal Space Management Authority (LASISMA), and the Chief Executive Officer of OCTRAGON, Gbolahan Awonusi.
Lagos State Government officials during the on-site assessment of informal spaces
Speaking during the exercise, Dr. Olumide said that the physical inspection of informal spaces signalled the state government’s determination to turn such spaces around for the better.
According to him, Lagos was deliberately taking charge of its informal spaces to reposition them in line with global best practices and bring them to par with those in other notable cities around the world.
The Commissioner explained that the assessment would inform the development of practical prototypes to be deployed in pilot corridors, adding that OCTRAGON, as a private-sector partner, was collaborating with the Lagos State Government to ensure the orderly and sustainable management of informal spaces across the state.
Dr.Olumide further noted that effective management of informal spaces was critical for mobility, safety, urban aesthetics, and environmental protection, stressing that Lagos must optimise every available space to meet the demands of rapid urbanisation and population growth.
“In Lagos, every square metre of land matters, as we are the smallest State in the country by landmass, yet face intense urban and population pressure,” he said.
The on-site assessment marks another strategic step by the Lagos State Government towards integrated urban development, improved liveability, and the creation of a resilient, well-planned megacity.
