The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has disengaged some street sweepers, their supervisors and the service provider over alleged involvement in indiscriminate waste dumping along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis of Lagos.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this at the weekend, saying the decision followed sustained investigations and surveillance of the median, which had been identified as a recurring waste blackspot.
Gbadegesin said investigations established the involvement of the affected sweepers, who also confessed to dumping waste indiscriminately in the area.
He said their disengagement was intended to reinforce LAWMA’s commitment to maintaining high standards among personnel and service providers responsible for waste management across the state.
“Our responsibility is to keep Lagos clean, and everyone involved in that responsibility must play their part. Where our investigations establish that anyone is contributing to the problem, appropriate action will be taken. There will be no exceptions,” he said.
In a related development, LAWMA enforcement officers apprehended two suspected illegal waste dumpers in the area.
One of the suspects, identified as Timileyin Ojo, a male load carrier, was allegedly caught using a wheelbarrow to dump waste on the road median around the Berger-Oworonshoki axis.
The second suspect, a suspected cart pusher, was arrested for allegedly engaging in unauthorised waste collection in the same area.
The suspects were taken to the Oshodi Task Force Office (Mobile Court) for further investigation and prosecution under relevant Lagos State environmental laws.
Gbadegesin urged residents, businesses and waste collectors to dispose of waste through approved channels and patronise only assigned Private Sector Participants (PSPs).
He also warned waste management personnel and service providers to adhere to the same environmental standards expected of other stakeholders.
LAWMA said it would sustain surveillance along the Berger-Oworonshoki axis and other identified waste hotspots, with further enforcement actions to be taken where violations are established.
The Authority also urged residents to report cases of indiscriminate dumping and unauthorised waste collection through the appropriate channels.