Sanwo-Olu Asks Gbadegesin To Resign, Appoints Sanuth As New LAWMA MD

Sanwo-Olu Asks Gbadegesin to Resign, Appoints Sanuth as New LAWMA MD Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reportedly asked the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, to resign and appointed Dr. Hassan Sanuth as his replacement amid persistent waste management challenges across the state. The reported leadership change follows growing dissatisfaction over the accumulation of refuse on major roads, residential streets and drainage channels in several parts of Lagos, despite government directives and interventions to improve waste collection. However, as of the time of reporting, relevant state authorities had not officially confirmed the appointment of Sanuth or the completion of Gbadegesin’s exit. Sources familiar with the development said Sanwo-Olu had become increasingly unhappy with the pace of refuse evacuation across the state. According to the reports, the governor asked Gbadegesin to resign over the weekend, although the outgoing LAWMA chief was said to be seeking additional time to address the situation. The governor’s reported decision followed renewed concerns about heaps of refuse in communities and along major roads, with residents complaining about the slow pace of collection and disposal. Areas reportedly affected by persistent refuse accumulation include Mushin, Egbeda, Surulere, Ajegunle, Ikorodu, Ojo, Obalende, Apapa and Mile 2. The development has intensified scrutiny of the state’s waste management system and the effectiveness of LAWMA’s operations. About a month before the reported leadership change, Sanwo-Olu visited the Olusosun Dumpsite in Ojota, where he expressed dissatisfaction with the heaps of refuse across Lagos, describing the situation as embarrassing. The governor directed an overhaul of LAWMA’s operational structures and management and declared a state of emergency on waste management. During the visit, Sanwo-Olu, accompanied by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, met with stakeholders to assess the challenges affecting waste collection and disposal and discuss immediate, medium-term and long-term solutions. He attributed part of the problem to the failure of some Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators to meet their obligations. The governor also disclosed that waste compaction activities were ongoing at the Olusosun and Solous 3 dumpsites, with the expectation that the projects would improve disposal capacity and accelerate refuse evacuation. According to the earlier announcement, completing the work would enable each dumpsite to receive about 450 trucks of municipal waste daily, effectively doubling the capacity available to PSP operators. Despite the government’s directives, residents in several communities have continued to complain about uncollected refuse along roads, residential streets, road medians and drainage channels. Recent fire incidents at dumpsites were also identified as factors that slowed waste disposal operations before work resumed. The persistent accumulation of refuse has raised concerns about environmental sanitation, public health and the possibility of blocked drainage channels contributing to flooding. The reported move against Gbadegesin suggests that the state government is seeking stronger operational performance and faster implementation of its waste management directives. Before the reports of his impending exit emerged, Gbadegesin had provided updates on efforts to clear refuse and sustain collection services across selected routes. In a post on his X account on Saturday, he said 11 of the 15 routes included in the week’s programme had received field updates. He reported that Mile 2 had been cleared, while three additional trucks were deployed to Doyin-Orile and surrounding communities.

• Daily waste collection on Ijesha Road and in Itire-Ikate.
• Clearance of Bucknor-Ijegun, with collection scheduled three times weekly.
• Interim waste collection services in Okeira and Oluodo following the termination of their PSP arrangements.
• Continued collection in Ogolonto and Igbokusu.
• Clearance of Obalende, provision of a waste bin and continued surveillance.
• Ongoing clearance operations in Iraye.

Gbadegesin identified Apapa, Abesan Estate, Idimu-Ejigbo Road and the Isheri-Igando corridor as the four routes still awaiting field updates. He said the objective was to move beyond removing visible waste towards sustained collection and preventing a recurrence of the problem. Gbadegesin had been reappointed to lead LAWMA following Sanwo-Olu’s re-election.Dr. Hassan A. Sanuth, the reported successor, previously served as Director of Sanitation Services in the Office of Environmental Services under the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. He holds a PhD in Environmental Microbiology and a master’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Ibadan. His research interests include epidemiology, biodegradation, bioremediation and environmental monitoring. Sanuth also holds certificates in Environmental Monitoring and Modelling from the Institute for Water Education in Delft, the Netherlands, and Multilevel Water Governance from The Hague Academy for Local Governance. He has more than 23 years of public service experience, having worked in environmental management and protection departments covering pollution control, billing and monitoring, conservation and ecology. He also served as Nigeria’s focal point for environment under the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation-sponsored Collaborative Action for Sustainable Tourism programme in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sanuth belongs to several professional organisations, including the Science Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Environmental Society and the American Society for Microbiology. He is also an associate of the Nigerian Institute of Management. The reported leadership change comes as the Lagos State Government faces mounting pressure to improve refuse collection and disposal across the state.

While Sanwo-Olu’s reported decision signals a possible change in LAWMA’s leadership, formal confirmation of Sanuth’s appointment and Gbadegesin’s departure remained outstanding at the time of publication. The immediate challenge for the agency will be to improve waste collection, strengthen the performance of private waste operators and establish a sustainable system that prevents refuse from accumulating again across Lagos communities.