LAWMA Sacks Sweepers, Supervisors Over Illegal Dumping

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has disengaged some street sweepers, their supervisors and the service provider following investigations into alleged indiscriminate waste dumping along the Oworonshoki-Berger axis of Lagos State.

The authority also arrested two suspected illegal waste dumpers in the area as part of its enforcement efforts against improper waste disposal.

LAWMA disclosed this in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Saturday, September 5.

According to the statement, the affected sweepers and their supervisors were found to have been involved in dumping waste indiscriminately along the road median, which had been identified as a recurring waste blackspot.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the disengagement followed sustained investigation and surveillance of the area, as well as the sweepers’ alleged confession to the act.

He said the action was necessary to demonstrate LAWMA’s commitment to ensuring that personnel and service providers engaged in waste management did not contribute to the environmental problems they were employed to address.

“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,” Gbadegesin said.

The LAWMA boss added that the authority would continue to investigate recurring waste hotspots and sanction individuals found to be contributing to indiscriminate waste disposal, regardless of their position within the waste management system.

Meanwhile, LAWMA enforcement officials arrested two suspected illegal waste dumpers in the same 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.

Another suspect, identified as a cart pusher, was arrested for allegedly engaging in unauthorised waste collection in the area.

LAWMA said the suspects had been taken to the Oshodi Task Force Office (Mobile Court) for further investigation and prosecution in line with relevant environmental laws in Lagos State.

Gbadegesin urged residents, businesses and waste collectors to dispose of their waste through approved channels and patronise only assigned Private Sector Participants (PSPs).

He also stressed that waste management personnel and service providers must adhere to the same environmental standards expected of other stakeholders.

The authority said it would sustain surveillance along the Berger-Oworonshoki axis and other identified waste hotspots, warning that further enforcement action would be taken where violations are established.