Ogun State Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, has begun a special twenty-four-hour operation ahead of the 22nd National Sports Festival, “Gateway Games 2024,”;; which is scheduled to take place in the state.
The operation, which is expected to run until the conclusion of the festival, described as Nigeria’s version of the Olympic Games, is designed to ensure that the state remains clean and presentable in light of the influx of athletes, officials, visitors, and tourists anticipated to converge on the state during the duration of the national event.
According to the Special Adviser to the Governor and Special Adviser on OGWAMA, Abayomi Hunye, personnel and machinery have already been deployed strategically across the state to ensure a cleaner, healthier, and safer environment both before, during, and after the sports festival.
He stated, “To achieve this, day and night operations for twenty-four hours daily have begun with the aim of mopping up all wastes from every part of the state as well as desilting all road verges for a cleaner environment.”;;
“All Waste Private Sector Participants, PSP, servicing all communities in the state have been mobilized and have embarked on extra trips to manage domestic and public waste; this ensures that there is no backlog of waste anywhere in the state; government compactors have also been deployed to complement their efforts,”;; he added.
He further explained that for competition venues that are spread across the state, arrangements have been made not only to transport waste but also to pick up all refuse resulting from human activities, while sweepers have been arranged to work in rotating shifts to maintain cleanliness at the venues throughout the event.
“The sweepers will also work in shifts to keep clean all the highways, state, and street roads statewide,”;; he emphasized.
Hunye also appealed to visitors and tourists arriving in the state to exercise caution while driving; he advised them to pay close attention to OGWAMA caution signs, since its workers will be conducting special twenty-four-hour operations, performing their statutory duties on roads and streets across the state.
Additionally, he urged residents of the state to maintain their usual standards of environmental cleanliness; he encouraged them to continue containerizing their waste, thereby facilitating easier and more efficient collection and disposal by their respective PSP operators.
Reiterating OGWAMA’s unwavering commitment to fostering a clean, healthy, and safe environment throughout the duration of the National Sports Festival, Hunye welcomed all athletes, officials, visitors, and tourists to Ogun State, which he described as a land of many firsts, including in the area of sustainable and proper waste management.
