The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has announced that both the Ladipo and Oyingbo markets will be closed till further notice beginning next Thursday due to irresponsible waste dumping, unwillingness to pay for waste services, and a general lack of waste management at the markets.
Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, stated that the unwholesome environmental practises of traders in such markets, despite repeated warnings, demanded quick and required sanctions.
He said: “Our attention has been drawn to the deplorable state of the environment around Ladipo Market, Mushin and Oyingbo Market, resulting from reckless waste dumping by traders. Despite serving them abatement notices, they have continued the mindless environmental violation. We are left with no other choice than to evoke the necessary sanction of shutting down the markets. This is also meant to serve as a deterrent to other nonchalant markets”.
He stated that the authority had recently stepped up efforts to guarantee that business activities in all Lagos markets were conducted in a clean and safe environment for the benefit of all.
“We have intensified our cleaning efforts by dispatching vehicles to eradicate black spots across the metropolis, particularly business facilities,” Odumboni added.
These efforts, however, are tarnished by the actions of mischievous individuals who would rather dump their rubbish indiscriminately on the highways than pay for waste services.”
He encouraged traders in other exchanges to closely adhere to environmental cleanliness or risk having their markets closed indefinitely.
In another incident, a mobile court sitting in Oshodi punished two environmental offenders for waste burning and dumping refuse in a drain during a rainstorm, both of whom were captured in the Ikeja and Lekki axis, respectively.
The first offender received a two-count punishment of one year in prison or a 50,000 fine, and one month in prison without the option of a fee. The second defendant was held in a detention facility pending the outcome of his bail hearing.
The LAWMA boss reiterated the agency’s determination to eradicate all forms of indiscriminate waste disposal in the metropolis, adding that the enforcement team had been tasked with monitoring the environment and arresting those bent on undermining the Authority’s efforts to make Lagos cleaner and more livable.
He urged homeowners to practise good waste management by bagging and containerizing their garbage for easier evacuation by assigned PSPs, adding that any delays in evacuation by PSPs should be notified to the Authority via its toll-free lines, as an excuse when detected would not be acceptable.
