The Lagos State Government has intensified its crackdown on indiscriminate waste disposal, with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) sacking about five street sweepers, supervisors, and a service provider over alleged illegal dumping of waste along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis of the state.
Aside from that, the state government apprehended two suspected illegal waste dumpers in the area as part of renewed enforcement aimed at keeping major roads and public spaces across the state clean.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who disclosed the development in a statement on Saturday, stated that the affected workers were disengaged after sustained investigations and surveillance of the median along the busy axis.
According to him, the median had been identified as a recurring waste hotspot, prompting the authority to intensify monitoring of activities around the area.
Gbadegesin said investigations established that some of the street sweepers were allegedly involved in indiscriminate dumping, adding that the affected workers confessed to the offence during questioning.
He said the decision to disengage the personnel and the service provider was necessary to maintain discipline and ensure that those entrusted with keeping Lagos clean did not become part of the environmental problem.
“Our responsibility is to keep Lagos clean, and everyone involved in that responsibility must play their part,” the LAWMA boss said.
He warned that the authority would take appropriate action against any individual or organisation found contributing to indiscriminate waste disposal, regardless of their position within the waste management system.
Gbadegesin said LAWMA would sustain investigations and surveillance at identified waste hotspots across the metropolis, stressing that enforcement would not be selective.
In a related development, LAWMA enforcement officials arrested two suspected illegal waste dumpers around the Berger-Oworonshoki axis.
One of the suspects, identified as Timileyin Ojo, a load carrier, was allegedly caught using a wheelbarrow to dump waste on the road median.
The second suspect, described by the authorities as a suspected cart pusher, was allegedly involved in unauthorised waste collection within the area.
The two suspects were taken to the Oshodi Task Force Office, also known as the Mobile Court, for further investigation and prosecution under relevant environmental laws.
Gbadegesin, meanwhile, urged residents, businesses and waste collectors to dispose of their waste through approved channels and patronise only authorised Private Sector Participation operators assigned to their areas.
He stressed that personnel and service providers working within the waste management sector must maintain the same environmental standards expected of residents and businesses.
According to him, surveillance will continue along the Berger-Oworonshoki axis and other identified waste hotspots, with further sanctions to be imposed whenever violations are established.
He also appealed to members of the public to support the campaign by reporting cases of indiscriminate dumping and unauthorised waste collection through the appropriate channels.
The LAWMA boss maintained that achieving a cleaner Lagos required the cooperation of government agencies, waste managers, businesses and residents, assuring that the authority would continue to enforce environmental laws across the state.