Lagos State Government urged to Inject Incinerators in Waste Management Architecture, create more Dump Sites.

By Godson Ikoro

Stakeholders under the aegis of Satellite Town Forum(STF) have called on the Lagos State Government to make plans to include incinerators in waste management architecture to improve on the intractable waste management across municipal areas in the state.

Incinerators are used to dispose of waste materials, such as municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, and other waste.

This was one of the highpoints of the stake holders meeting
convened by Hon. Razaq Akorede Olojede, whose visionary leadership recognized the urgent need to bring together all stakeholders in waste management at Oriade LCDA Secretariat last weekend.

The attendants at the meeting were drawn from government arm, LAWMA, PSP operator as agent, and the community comprising CDC , CDA estate Chairmen and Secretaries.

Stakeholders’ made this call while addressing the the persistent challenges surrounding waste disposal Satellite Town.

Reacting to the catalogue of problems or excuses submitted by Precious Addy, the PSP contractor, as limiting factors which negatively impacted on his performance, Stakeholders’ called on the state Government to plan to inject incinerators in its waste management architecture and create new dump sites that are not too far from the area for LAWMA agents to dispose of wastes evacuated from the estates , major streets across the Satellite Town and the state.

The consensus was that incinerators will assist the state to manage waste faster and cleanner than the present.
Furthermore, they argued that the present situation where the dump sites are too far-flung from the areas does not augur well for waste management. They argued the present dump sites at Badagary, Orelope, Igando and Ojota are far flung, stressing that the government should think of providing incinerators to make waste management more sustainable even as they seek for a loading station around the area.

Stakeholders’ predicated their call on the claims of Precious Addy Cleaning Company that it takes them two to three days before their trucks can discharge wastes carried from satellite town to dump sites because of the ongoing rehabilitation which in turn affected service turn around time.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Hon. Razaq Akorede Olojede, ably represented by his Chief of Staff said his administration will ensure the cleanliness of the entire Satellite area.
He urged the stake holders to address the persistent challenges surrounding waste disposal in our area.
The District Manager, in Charge of Apapa -Badagary Zone of LAWMA.,Mrs Oluwayemisi Bankole had called the meeting to order; stating that it was to address numerous complaints and other problems in all the estates across satellite town , hence it was tagged Stakeholders’

Similarly,the Chairman of Satellite Town Forum (STF), Governor Imitini said that the historic meeting,was to collectively address critical issues like Waste disposal inefficiencies,
Over-billing system concerns, Non-payment issues,unsatisfactory service delivery by service provider Precious Addy
and various other operational challenges.

Imitini said that going by key performance indicators, (KPIs); if you do any scaling or ranking,
Precious Addy’s service is below par, less than 20% by his own estimation, in fact the PSP agent has done nothing .

He observed that as a service provider whose customers kept complaining and writing petitions and going to courts, abundantly showed that precious Addy lacked the capacity to serve the satellite area .

Citing Estates, like Sand field estate, national Bank,NNPC estate, Nasco , major streets ,Folarin Estate and many others already disenchanted with the services of Precious Addy, lmitini likened the PSP company to NEPA,now EkEDC, who will not work , but will come to collect money at the end of the month .
Aside from not rendering the required service, the Precious Addy has the penchant to threaten estates with court cases and blackmailing them as owing him millions of Naira.
He said that STF was so inaundated with complaints and Petitions against Precious Addy that STF wanted to carry out a protest as a prelude to going to court. He averred that Barrister Imade wanted to go to court on behalf of Folarin Estate over complaints against precious Addy but was prevailed upon by STF to wait until after this meeting, stressing that precious Addy’s has been rejected unless it undertakes to do better.

Speaker after speaker recounted their estate grievances against Precious Addy reneging the terms of agreement he had with estates and making spurious claims about the amount owed by various estates.

However , the Managing Director of Precious Addy, Mr. Adebisi Dolapo, said that his organization is ready to serve Satellite town. Claiming that his company has acquired more trucks . He avarred that if the estates are assuring the waste management company that they would recoup their investments by paying on time, the service will improve tremendously.. He argued that the poor service was a result of the inability of the estates to pay for service rendered as at when due, stressing that the cost of diesel to fuel the trucks and maintenance are enormous.

The meeting was attended by Hon. Razaq Akorede Olojede, Executive Chairman, Oriade LCA, represented by the Chief of Staff, Oriade LCDA, Head of Department, Oriade LCDA Environment,Mr. Victor Okunola, CDC Chairman, STF Executives, CDA Chairmen, Estate Chairmen, and various community leaders.

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has severa lsustainability Initiatives assured of up cycling centers to promote creative reuse of materials and reduce landfill waste,educating Lagosians about proper waste disposal,partnering with private sector stakeholders to deliver efficient waste management services and promote environmental sustainability.

LAWMA aims are centered around promoting sustainable waste management practices, protecting the environment, and improving the quality of life for Lagosians.

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