The Ogun State Government, through its Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, has begun a “Special Operation” to evacuate the backlog of waste across the state following a report by DAILY POST.
The report, published on Thursday, February 26, highlighted the alarming state of waste management in the state, with indiscriminate dumping turning it into a corridor of decay.
Heaps of waste were seen scattered across various local government areas, starkly displayed like goods for sale.
It was also gathered that the Private Sector Participants (PSP), who handle waste collection for residential and commercial areas, have been inconsistent.
However, the newly appointed Managing Director of OGWAMA, Farouk Akintunde, on Saturday said the “Special Operation” became necessary to rid the state of accumulated waste that had not been properly attended to before he took over the affairs of the authority.
He added that the “night operation,” which was halted months ago, has been reinstated to tackle the state’s waste crisis and restore cleanliness.
Akintunde said, “All the machinery of the authority has now been deployed to different parts of the state, and the operation is going on simultaneously, especially in major towns such as Abeokuta, Sango-Ota, Ijebu-Ode, Ifo, among others, while the ‘Night Operation,’ which had also been suspended several months back, has returned immediately in full swing.
“Following a fruitful meeting with executives and members of the Ogun State Association of Waste Managers Association (AWAN), where some lingering issues hampering their operations in the past were resolved, members have also resumed immediately in their assigned coverage areas to contribute significantly to the proper evacuation of the accumulated waste across the state.”
Akintunde, who also doubles as Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Environment, urged residents to hand over their waste to the waste managers assigned to their areas and properly containerise it in front of their homes instead of dumping it indiscriminately on roadsides.
Meanwhile, he warned that anyone found dumping waste on road medians would be prosecuted.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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