Education
LACSOP urges sustainable environmental actions against climate change – EnviroNews
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The Executive Secretary of the Lagos Civil Society Participation for Development (LACSOP), Mrs. Dede Kadiri, has urged residents to adopt practices that promote environmental sustainability and help mitigate the impact of climate change.
Kadiri made the call in an interview in Lagos on Friday, July 24, 2026.
She said LACSOP was established to drive development, amplify citizens’ voices, and ensure public participation in governance processes that add value to society.
Kadiri added that one of the organisation’s key focus areas is the Citizens-Led Accountability Mechanism (CLAIM) project.
“There are several issues we must consider. First is the single-use plastic ban, a policy introduced by the Lagos State Government.
“Then there is the flooding issue and the climatic concerns we are experiencing across the state and the world, we need to start taking actions and embrace practices that help the environment and help in climate change fight,” she said.
According to her, government must put the right policies in place and ensure enforcement, while communities must also take initiative.
“One of the biggest concerns in Lagos State is waste management. It is such a huge issue, and through the CLAIM project, we are engaging communities on the problem,” she said.
Kadiri disclosed that the CLAIM project commenced in 2025 with a pilot in Apapa and Lagos Island Local Government Areas.
She said the choice of the two LGAs was deliberate because they are coastal, historic, and strategic in terms of private sector participation and community engagement.
“We want to engage communities to proffer solutions to their own problems. That is why we started with Apapa and Lagos Island as pilot areas,” she said.
On the level of success so far, Kadiri said: “I would say we have recorded some successes and also faced challenges. We have had to navigate issues around politics, awareness, knowledge and understanding.
“LACSOP members have been involved in training, discussions and advocacy. We now have up to 200 civil society organisations that we can engage at any time. When you multiply that, it is a significant number.”
She said the group worked with various civil society organisations to enter communities, train and empower residents who have since carried out activities in their areas.
“They have carried out clean-up exercises and organised themselves for waste management. What is left is for government to come and evacuate the refuse.
“Sometimes, they collaborate with local governments for waste evacuation in their communities. If we can do this on a small scale, we can expand and replicate it across Lagos State and Nigeria. We must find solutions to our problems,” she said.
Kadiri further stressed that government alone could solve the problem.
“We cannot wait for government alone. Lagos is not just large in geographical size, but also in population. The sooner we take responsibility for the waste we generate, the earlier we can tackle climate change problems, especially flooding.
“Look at the waste-to-wealth programme. At the level of the circular economy, we are bringing in different stakeholders to drive waste-to-wealth initiatives,” she said.
She explained that from community management and youth groups to traditional rulers, private sector players and market associations, LACSOP was mobilising different categories of people in small teams to address waste management challenges.
“Our expectation is that these small groups will not only pick up waste, but also generate income from it,” she said.
Also speaking, Mrs. Bunmi Tejumola, Community Officer for the CLAIM Project in Lagos Island, said the pilot was supported by Bread for the World.
She said there are six clusters on Lagos Island, targeting youths between ages 18 and 35, and that the programme was inclusive of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
“The main target is the youth, to drive the mission. We first held a validation meeting and brought in consultants to explain what climate change means to them.
“Before the training on waste-to-wealth and recycling, they didn’t know they could make money from waste. They only knew about cleaning the environment. Now it is different.
“They are now conscious of what they dispose of and where they dispose it. We taught them to sort their waste, and to do this not just in their homes, but in their communities. Even while walking, if they see food waste mixed with bottles and broken plates, they should separate them.
“They told us their challenges. Waste is supposed to be evacuated daily, but sometimes it is weekly, and even then, the trucks don’t come weekly. That was a big challenge.
“So they carried out advocacy to the local governments and relevant departments, and that was how we got vehicles. If you leave waste for one or two months, it goes back into the drains, and that contributes to flooding. These are some of the impacts the project has made,” she said.
By Abiodun Abegunde