The Lagos State Government has announced the resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, with the first edition scheduled for April 25, marking its return after a nine-year suspension.

Tokunbo Wahab, the state commissioner for environment and water resources, disclosed the development on Saturday shortly after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat participated in a symbolic street-cleaning exercise to signal the programme’s revival.

The statewide sanitation exercise was suspended in November 2016 following a Court of Appeal ruling which declared that restricting residents’ movement during the exercise violated citizens’ constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

Prior to its suspension, the sanitation exercise held on the last Saturday of every month between 7:00 am and 10:00 am. According to Wahab, the exercise will now take place on the last Saturday of each month from 6:30 am to 8:30 am.

He urged residents to use the period to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in front of their homes, and dispose of waste properly as part of their civic responsibility.

“This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier and flood-resilient Lagos,” Wahab said.

He added that the initiative would be supported by strict enforcement from the state government.

Describing the decision as an “audacious step,” the commissioner noted that the move followed more than a year of consultations and deliberations before the government agreed to reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise.