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Hired to Clean, Caught Dumping: LAWMA Disengages Sweepers in Oworonshoki
Residents and motorists along the Oworonshoki-Beger axis of Lagos may have been struggling with a familiar environmental problem, but investigations by the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, have revealed an unusual twist: some of the people employed to keep the area clean were allegedly contributing to the waste problem.
LAWMA has disengaged some street sweepers, their supervisors and the service provider responsible for their operations after investigations linked them to indiscriminate dumping of waste along the axis.
The development followed sustained surveillance of the road median, which LAWMA identified as a recurring waste blackspot.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said the sweepers confessed to involvement in the illegal disposal of waste, leading to their disengagement from the cleaning operation.
He said the action was necessary to make it clear that everyone involved in waste management must uphold the standards required to keep Lagos clean.
Gbadegesin said LAWMA would not allow personnel or service providers engaged to solve the city’s waste problem to become part of the problem.
“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,” he said.
The LAWMA boss said the authority would continue to monitor known waste hotspots across the state and take action against individuals or organisations found violating environmental regulations, regardless of their position within the waste management system.
In a related development, LAWMA enforcement officers arrested two suspected illegal waste dumpers around the Berger-Oworonshoki axis.
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.
A suspected cart pusher was also arrested for allegedly engaging 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 of Lagos State.
For residents living and working around the axis, the arrests highlight the continuing challenge of keeping public spaces free from waste, particularly in areas where illegal dumping has become a recurring problem.
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 workers and service providers must observe the same environmental standards expected of residents and businesses.
LAWMA said surveillance would continue along the Berger-Oworonshoki axis and other identified waste hotspots, with further enforcement actions to follow where violations are established.
The authority also urged residents to report cases of indiscriminate dumping and unauthorised waste collection through its appropriate channels and support efforts to keep Lagos clean.
