Lagos State government, on Wednesday, said a total of 83 persons have been convicted and jailed, over 1,200 penalised to sweep, with over 3,000 fined of various sums in the state, having been found guilty of committing various forms of offences relating to indiscriminate disposal of waste in, in the last one year.
This was just as the state government disclosed sustainability measures put in place to keep operations of waste management processes abreast with rising challenges.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Lagos State Waste Management Authority, (LAWMA) Ibrahim Odumboni, made the disclosure during a press briefing on the state of affairs on waste management in Lagos, updates on activities from the beginning of 2022 till August, recent challenges solutions and sustainability measures put in place by the Agency.
Odumboni said the prosecution of the offenders was necessitated to deter bad culture to waste management.
“83 people were jailed last year for waste-related offences. Over 1,200 did community services – they joined our sweepers to sweep and do the job very well and over 3,000 were fined. But the most important thing, for us, is why don’t we ensure we do the right thing?
“For people out there, who continue to migrate and dump waste indiscriminately, any time you are cut, you would be held responsible and would face the wrath of the law,” he said.
According to him, the enforcement team set up by the Agency has become very active, and have ceased over 1,400 carts across the State in the last two months “to ensure a much more formal, agreeable and consistent system of Waste is introduced into our society.”
Odumboni, who said truck pushers were guilty of dumping waste in canals and drainage systems, causing the menace of drainage blockages informing floods, warned that having extended hands of fellowship to cart pushers on how they could work with the Agency to formalise their operations, the Agency would not take it lightly with those who kicked against the hands of fellowship and rules of engagement.
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“For anyone who does not have an identity, who poses security threats to the state, who refuses to follow the law and put the lives of Lagosians in danger, there is going to be zero-tolerance on that and so, we would continue in our operations to get rid of cart pushers in Lagos,” he said.
Odumboni frowned at mischievous offenders who inflict attacks on workers and facilities of the Agency, saying it had fostered engagement with law enforcement agents to bring culprits to book.
The LAWMA boss said the Agency was now working with LASTMA, the Neighborhood Watch and other security agencies to prosecute those cut on the live time metropolitan cameras across the state as he noted that mischievous resorts had been observed from people who migrated and dumped waste indiscriminately.
Mentioning that each of the over 20 million residents of the state generates a minimum of 0.65kg, averaging 13,000 metric tonnes, in all demanding no less than 650 heavy-duty trucks to evacuate them, he said the Agency had been straightened to the task to ensure “delivering excellent services with the aim of clearing everything on daily basis.”
According to him, poor attitudes to waste management, recent rainfall, and particularly the recent cost of diesel have posed huge challenges to the cost of operation.
He said the number of PSP trucks operating in the state had been upscaled under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Administration from about 627 to over 1,100, higher than those of New York, about 150 of which are operated by LAWMA, but lamented that the rising cost of diesel from the 1st quarter of this year, had posed huge challenges for operators.
“Of the key things we face as challenges for the PSP, the first of it is the rising cost of operation, the cost of overheads, majorly diesel, and spare parts for those trucks that PSP use,” he said.
Odumboni disclosed that in reality, a tariff review was under consideration, saying that the pricing review planned to commence 1st October this year with critical engagement with stakeholders, was projected for about 50 per cent increase.
He, however, said this would be variable subject to peculiar circumstances.
“Also, we are in the process of extensive and consultative pricing review for PSP services that will offer in households, knowing fully well that we are trying to recognise the economic trend in Nigeria, but we are trying to ensure that we are not introducing any change that will automatically disenfranchise people and cause the menace of Waste in our immediate society,” he said.
In an effort to meet up with changing demands such as the rising cost of diesel and the demands of clean energy, he disclosed the Agency has commenced processes of duel fuel system for trucks, disclosing that two trucks had already been converted to dual fuel system – 50 per cent diesel and 50 per cent gas for efficiency.
He, however, said to keep the operators afloat, the state governor, Sanwo-Olu, had reached conclusion to make fuel subsidy arrangements for the operators, which according to him, was to cushion the impacts of the high cost of diesel biting hard on operators.
According to him, the fuel subsidy was in addition to subsidies offered the PSP operators “in areas where we have challenges.”
“We are giving them additional subsidies to share among all operators that we feel the impact is bitting hard on so that they continue to deliver the level of service we expect them to deliver,” he said.
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