Lagos State government, on Thursday, promised to assist Delta State in its pursuit of best practices in garbage management.

Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, made this statement at Alausa when he hosted a delegation from Delta State, headed by Mr. Jamani Ejiro, the Commissioner for the Environment, who came to observe the waste management practices in Lagos State and other environmental issues.

Kunle Adeshina, the ministry’s director of public affairs, revealed this in a statement on Thursday.

This is coming as the state government recently sealed the Oke-Afa market, Isolo, and Katangua market, Abule Egba, for violating waste disposal regulations.

LAWMA said the closure of the markets became expedient to curb mounting environmental health concerns.

According to the Wahab, knowledge sharing is essential for the development of any state that aspires to grow economically.

He told the delegates that the Lagos State Environmental Protection and Management law of 2017 is the bedrock on which the Ministry discharges its duties.

He said, “No man is an island, interestingly, Delta and Lagos share some similarities because they are both coastal states”.

He explained that Lagos State has also over time modified its laws ranging from environmental impact assessment and waste management saying it is pertinent to separate degradable waste from nondegradable waste.

Wahab who provided answers to questions from the delegates added that synergy exists between the ministry and its agencies and has enabled high-level cooperation.

He urged Delta State to replicate such synergy which would assist in achieving ministerial goals and moving the state forward.

He explained that the ministry  over the years ensured that different agencies have laws guiding their operations to achieve the set goals of a sustainable environment in accordance with the agenda of the state.

Wahab said the world has changed and everyone must put in place various measures to mitigate the adverse effects of global warming and other environmental issues confronting human existence.

“We must also construct very resilient infrastructure to take care of the adverse effects of global warming and most importantly we must build up an advocacy for our people to change their orientation,” he stated.

Speaking earlier, the Delta State Commissioner for Environment, Jamani Ejiro, said his State had been observant of Lagos State’s achievement in tackling the environmental challenges the state was confronted with in years past.

He commended the state for the laudable initiatives,  adding that Delta was willing to understudy these processes and also replicate same in Delta State to ensure environmental sustainability.

He said his State is resolute in addressing environmental issues such as the waste management process, combating climate change issues, environmental conservation as well as environmental education for the citizenry.

The Special Adviser on Environment, Mr Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, reiterated that Lagos being the commercial nerve center of the country saddles the state with a lot of challenges in the environment sector.

He said the state frontally confronts these challenges and issues in the environment to sustain business activities in the state, saying this has been achievable through the expertise of officers in the Departments and Agencies of the Ministry.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Mahamood Adegbite, enjoined the visiting delegates to engage officials of the host ministry and engender a synergy between the two states, adding that other states in the past had also formed alliances with Lagos on ways to improve the waste management process in their respective states.