LAGOS/Nigeria: The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has intensified enforcement along the Ayobo-Ipaja corridor after clearing waste that had accumulated on road medians around Megida and adjoining areas.
The development was contained in a statement issued on Friday by Dr Mukaila Sanusi, Director of Public Affairs, LAWMA, following the authority’s intervention in the affected areas.
The intervention, according to the authority, is aimed not only at removing existing refuse but also at preventing the affected locations from returning to illegal dumping points.
LAWMA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who spoke on the exercise, said operational personnel had been deployed to evacuate the accumulated waste while enforcement officers were simultaneously addressing activities linked to repeated dumping.
He said the authority’s monitoring of the area indicated that trading activities conducted on road medians and the activities of unauthorised waste collectors were contributing to the problem.
Gbadegesin also attributed part of the challenge to residents who, according to him, were not using the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators assigned to their areas for household waste collection.
“We are working here right now to clear the accumulated waste and restore the affected areas to acceptable environmental standards,” he said.
He added that evacuation alone would not provide a lasting solution unless the activities responsible for the recurrence of the waste were also addressed.
As part of the enforcement operation, the authority said two tricycles, commonly known as Keke Marwa, were apprehended for allegedly conveying waste from the community and dumping it on the road medians.
Gbadegesin warned that LAWMA would not allow unapproved waste collectors to operate outside the state’s formal waste management arrangements.
The authority’s current PSP structure provides formal waste collection services to residents in the Ayobo-Ipaja corridor, including the Megida area.
The LAWMA chief appealed to residents, traders and business operators in the area to use their designated PSP operators and stop disposing of refuse on road medians, roadsides and other unauthorised locations.
He said the agency would combine waste evacuation with enforcement and continued monitoring in an effort to prevent cleared locations from becoming dumping points again.
The latest intervention comes against the backdrop of recurring waste disposal concerns in Ayobo-Ipaja, where authorities have previously undertaken clean-up operations and enforcement measures against indiscriminate disposal.
Gbadegesin further warned against interference with LAWMA officials carrying out authorised environmental enforcement duties.
He said anyone who obstructed or assaulted personnel during lawful operations would face prosecution, irrespective of whether the person was a resident, trader, waste operator, public official or other member of the public.
The authority said it would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to maintain environmental standards across Lagos, stressing that the success of the Ayobo-Ipaja intervention would ultimately depend on preventing the re-accumulation of refuse after the clean-up.
