On Monday, the Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, announced a transformation plan for the Olusosun dumpsite.
According to the Commissioner, the government is partnering with ZoomLion Nigeria to construct a state-of-the-art Transfer Loading Station at Olusosun.
The loading station will serve as a central hub redirecting “2,500 tonnes of daily waste to a newly planned Material Recovery Facility in Ikorodu,” Commissioner Wahab said.
“This will allow us to permanently close Olusosun – a move that not only improves public health and safety but also significantly reduces the environmental impact of open dumping.”
The Commissioner added that the project will take 18 months.
However, the 18-month timeline was originally announced in October 2024 by the Managing Director of the state’s waste management authority, LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin.
“We recently signed a memorandum of understanding with ZoomLion, a Ghanaian company,” Dr. Gbadegesin said at the time. “We have partnered with them to establish material recovery facilities.
“Even before that, they are going to cover the landfill—Olusosun and Solous—within the next 18 months. They will cover it with geotextiles, place solar panels on it, and then construct transfer loading stations, one at Solous and another at Olusosun so that we can transport the waste in trailers to material recovery facilities that will be constructed in Ikorodu and Badagry.”
A timeline of unkept promises
In 2003, the Lagos State Government pledged to refurbish the Olusosun landfill, citing environmental concerns.
The construction giant, Julius Berger Plc, was contracted to handle the rehabilitation exercise, with the aim of making the site better accessible for refuse trucks.
However, after the refurbishment announcement, no significant, sustainable effort was made to tackle indiscriminate dumping at Olusosun.
In 2014, LAWMA restated its commitment to the Olusosun dumpsite by announcing a bold plan to convert it into a golf course.
The then general manager of LAWMA, Oladimeji Oresanya, said the project would be completed in ten years.
However, the plan was apparently abandoned.
Under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s Cleaner Lagos Initiative in 2017, the government said Olusosun would be shut down and redeveloped as a park for inter-city buses. That plan, too, did not see the light of day.
Again, in 2021, the Sanwo-Olu administration said it would shut down Olusosun in “about two years.”
That deadline passed quietly, with LAWMA returning with a new closure plan in October 2024.
What’s different now?
This latest plan ties Olusosun to a broader state strategy of waste sorting and recycling.
The proposed Transfer Loading Station is designed to connect directly with a new recycling facility in Ikorodu, potentially improving efficiency and reducing landfill dependency.
However, the project’s cost and due date is not clear, echoing the vague announcements of the past.
Seeking clarity on the missing details, Ikeja Record contacted the Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Governor, Jubril Gawat and the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Governor, Gboyega Akosile.
As of the time of filing this report, both officials were yet to provide a response.
We also sent a direct message to Commissioner Wahab via his Instagram profile but did not receive any response.
