'We're not Sabotaging Lagos Waste Management'

The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, (AWMN), Lagos Chapter, has denied allegations of blackmail and sabotage leveled against it by the Lagos state government.

Chairman of AWMN, Lagos Chapter, Oladipo Egbeyemi made the clarification during a press briefing, during the week.

He appealed to Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode to create a framework that would enable the Private Sector Participants (PSP) collaborate with the Visionscape Company work together to clean up Lagos.

He said, “We will also like to state categorically that we have not and will not condone any form of sabotage or blackmail of the Government of Mr. Akinwumni Ambode. We remain committed to an amicable legal resolution with government and collaborate with all stakeholders to not only restore Lagos to her once glorious clean state of old, but to also actualise the Cleaner Lagos that all Lagosians will be proud of."

He explained that the distribution of waste bins on the streets and highways of Lagos without adequate strategies for evacuation was responsible for overflow of trash in the state.

He noted that “various interventions carried out to date had not stopped the increase in the volume of waste on the highways and medians.”

The government, according to him, “confirmed that the PSP has almost 1,000 trucks following a verification exercise carried out by its consultant with over 400 licensed operators.

“A two-day waste backlog has closed the Olusosun dump site and made it inaccessible thereby adversely affecting the turnaround.”

The association stated that the waste problem ought to be tackled at the point of generation by enforcing the government policy of door to door collection, acknowledged to be the international best practice.

He said, "There is need to ensure that all existing dump sites are made accessible at all times; delivering massive advocacy programmes to enlightening Lagosians.”

He said there should be “enforcement of sanitation practice of bagging and containerisation of wastes and providing sustainable enforcement for non-compliance to house to house disposal and non- payment. It demands that all stakeholders should remain committed to the Rule of Law and avoid any measure that will create divisions and anarchy.