Sanwo-Olu Orders Demolition Along Lagos-badagry Expressway

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has issued a final warning to illegal occupants of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway median, saying a large-scale demolition will begin next week. 

Speaking to reporters during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise on Itire Road in Surulere, Sanwo-Olu said the government would no longer tolerate structures on the median, which he described as an abuse of public infrastructure and a threat to the highway’s reconstruction.

The operation will cover the stretch from Orile Iganmu to Okokomaiko. 

“This is the final notice to everyone occupying the median of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway. From next week, we are going to clear the entire median. Everything there will go. Every illegal structure will be removed,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said the median was designed as part of the highway and not for markets or habitation, citing “huge public investment on that corridor.” Thousands of enforcement personnel will be deployed to ensure compliance, he said.

The governor also announced steps to improve waste management. The state has ordered 150 additional compactors, with the first batch expected in three months. Smaller compactor trucks will also be procured to access inner streets and estates.

He said the government is building a material recovery and recycling facility to process about 4,250 metric tons of waste daily. The plant is expected to open next year and reduce pressure on landfills.

Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that some private sector participation, PSP, waste operators face rising costs and equipment shortages. He urged residents to pay waste disposal bills promptly.

“Environmental sanitation remains a key priority,” he said. “Lagos generates tens of thousands of tons of waste daily and requires the cooperation of government, businesses and residents.”

He urged parents to involve children in sanitation to build environmental responsibility.

Head of Service Olabode Agoro, who monitored the June exercise in Kosofe, said the monthly sanitation will continue as a permanent initiative. 

“When people travel abroad, they obey environmental laws and avoid littering. We should show the same discipline here at home,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu was joined by his wife, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; the deputy governor’s wife, Mrs. Olufunke Hamzat; and Environment and Water Resources Commissioner Tokunbo Wahab.