The Managing
Director/CEO of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni,
has warned residents against turning abandoned properties to dumpsites or
using waste to reclaim lands for future uses.
Odumboni who spoke
through a release from the Authority at Ijora-Olopa, noted that both illegal
practices constituted environmental offences, punishable by outright forfeiture
of such properties and prosecution of violators.
According to him, "LAWMA is issuing a strong warning that people should stop dumping refuse in abandoned properties. They should also desist from using waste to reclaim lands for the purpose of building houses. Anyone caught in those illegal practices will be made to face the wrath of the law, while such properties will be instantly confiscated by the government.
"We have said
this many times but some residents are adamant. I am restating again that
anyone caught in the act will be prosecuted, as our enforcement teams have been
effectively mobilised to do the needful in this regard", he stressed.
The LAWMA helmsman
further advised those involved in waste recycling, to do their business in
secured spaces, that would not constitute an environmental nuisance or attract
reckless waste dumping by passers-by.
“A situation where
people who don’t want to pay for PSP services, hide under the guise of
recycling to dump their waste and discarded materials at uncompleted and
abandoned buildings, will not be tolerated by the Authority. This nefarious act
has turned such locations into breeding grounds for not only pests and diseases
but also criminals”, he said.
Odumboni further
reiterated that LAWMA had a working collaboration with several government
agencies including the MVAA and Neighbourhood Watch, to track waste migration
and apprehend offenders, through timestamp cameras, in any part of the state.
He reminded
residents that the easy way out was for them to acquire waste bins for their
properties and patronise assigned PSP operators, adding that the prosecution
of tenements without waste bins would begin in January next year.
Kadiri Folashade
(Mrs.)
Director, Public
Affairs
05/11/2022
0 Comments