Gbadamosi, Wahab clash over Lagos refuse crisis

The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Deputy Governorship Candidate in Lagos State, Gbadamosi Babatunde, have exchanged words on social media over the state’s waste management situation.

The disagreement started after Wahab shared a video on X showing himself and other Lagos State Government officials participating in a waste-clearing exercise aimed at improving environmental sanitation in parts of the state.

Reacting to the video, Gbadamosi questioned whether the commissioner intended to personally supervise the removal of refuse across Lagos, while criticising the government’s handling of the state’s waste situation.

Gbadamosi alleged that refuse had accumulated in several areas, including Ikorodu, Epe and Lagos Island.

He asked whether Wahab planned to evacuate waste “street by street, bridge by bridge, gutter by gutter and canal by canal,” arguing that the government’s efforts were inadequate to address the wider problem.

The ADC chieftain described the exercise as “performative misgovernance” and accused the Lagos State Government of failing to properly tackle the refuse challenge.

Gbadamosi further alleged that the administration was allowing Lagos residents to live amid unsanitary conditions and claimed that he had previously offered suggestions to Wahab on how the waste problem could be addressed.

He also appealed to Lagos residents across ethnic, religious and political lines, including supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to support him and former Labour Party governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

He said they should work together to improve the state, using the slogan “Make Èkó Great Again.”

Responding to the criticism, Wahab rejected Gbadamosi’s comments and said he would not give him the attention he was seeking.

The commissioner said Gbadamosi had repeatedly attempted to attract his attention but that he had chosen not to engage him.

Wahab then criticised Gbadamosi’s record in managing an estate and made an allegation involving AMEN Estate.

“I do not engage with people like you who could not successfully manage an estate with fewer than 100 residents, yet allegedly attempted to fraudulently take AMEN ESTATE from its female owner, only to eventually be sent packing by her,” Wahab wrote.

The allegation concerning AMEN Estate was made by Wahab in the course of the social media exchange and was not independently established in the material available.

Wahab also referred to Gbadamosi’s political relationship with Rhodes-Vivour, telling him to “enjoy your few weeks of rehabilitation and skit-making with your boy, GRV.”

The exchange has further drawn attention to the continuing political debate over waste management, environmental sanitation and the performance of the Lagos State Government ahead of the 2027 elections.