The Lagos State Government has unveiled a waste-turned-to-energy initiative project to tackle the persistent challenge of open defecation and poor public sanitation in the area.
The government, through it’s Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, held a sensitization programme on the measure tagged“Pee-Po-to-Power Lagos (WEEP – Waste-to-Energy Project),” stating that it is an avenue to enable sanitation and environmental sustainability in the form of transforming human waste into clean biogas through biodigester technology, turning what is traditionally regarded as waste into a valuable resource capable of improving public health, reducing environmental pollution and promoting clean energy.
Speaking during a press briefing was the Project Team Lead, Bamidele Thomas, who said that the initiative was developed after extensive community engagement with transport workers, traders, commuters and residents to understand the behavioural, cultural and accessibility challenges that have continued to fuel open defecation despite previous interventions.
Thomas at the awareness programme held at the Baganda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, mentioned that the Ojota Bus Stop was selected as the pilot location because of its heavy daily foot traffic and the availability of an existing public toilet facility that could be upgraded into a modern sanitation hub.
He also uttered that a 10-kilometre Walk Against Open Defecation has been scheduled for Saturday from 10:00 a.m., beginning at Allen Avenue and ending at Ojota Bus Stop, adding that the advocacy walk is expected to mobilise between 500 and 700 participants to raise awareness about proper sanitation, discourage open defecation and promote healthier environmental practices across Lagos.
Speaking on the technical aspect of the project, Head of Projects, Hamzat Sirajudeen, said that the multidisciplinary team, comprising engineers, health professionals, policy experts, environmental advocates and communication specialists, reviewed sanitation systems from several countries, including India, before adopting an anaerobic biodigester system as the most suitable solution for Lagos.
Surajudeen said that facility is built around a 30-cubic-metre biodigester, one of the largest designed for a public sanitation project, capable of processing waste generated by at least 350 users daily, explaining that human waste collected from the facility is channelled into the biodigester, where it undergoes anaerobic digestion before passing through a filtration system that ensures environmentally safe discharge.
He noted that the technology is expected to significantly reduce the need for septic tank evacuation, extending maintenance intervals from every two weeks to potentially several years, while improving hygiene, reducing environmental pollution and lowering operating costs.
“The implementation process involved detailed engineering surveys, technical planning, stakeholder consultations and partnerships with government agencies and private organisations,” according to him.
“Boff Construction Limited handled the renovation of the facility, while El-Fad Concepts installed the biodigester system. Community members and transport unions were also actively engaged throughout the construction process to ensure public ownership and sustainability of the project.”
Also speaking, the Co-Lead for the Walk Against Open Defecation, Shalom Ernest, disclosed that the WEEP project goes beyond addressing sanitation challenges by creating economic and environmental benefits for surrounding communities.
Ernest explained that the clean biogas generated from the biodigester will be supplied free of charge to women food vendors around Ojota, reducing their dependence on charcoal and other fossil fuels, lowering operating costs and cutting carbon emissions.
He added that future phases of the initiative would explore converting the biogas into electricity capable of powering the facility and surrounding public infrastructure.
Oluwatosin Alabi, who oversees Partnerships, Projects and Finance, mentioned that the awareness walk forms part of a broader strategy to drive behavioural change and improve public education on sanitation.
Alabi described the initiative as more than an infrastructure project, calling it “a movement that transforms waste into value, communities into partners and environmental challenges into opportunities.
She added that the project aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Lagos State THEMES Agenda, with the long-term vision of replicating the model across public sanitation facilities throughout the state to build a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable Lagos.