ABEOKUTA – The Ogun State Waste Management Authority has commenced a “Special Operation” to clear accumulated heaps of waste scattered across parts of the local councils in the state.
The agency warned that anyone found culpable of dumping waste indiscriminately along road medians would be prosecuted and made to face the full wrath of the law.
The Encounter News learnt that heaps of waste were discovered in areas of the capital metropolis, including Panseke, Totoro, Ita-Eko, Oke-Shokori and Itaoshin, among others, following the failure of Private Sector Participants (PSP) handling waste collection to meet their obligations.
Speaking, the Managing Director of the agency, Farouk Akintunde, said the “Special Operation” became imperative to evacuate indiscriminately dumped waste in strategic areas of Abeokuta, the state capital, and to restore cleanliness in Ogun State.
Akintunde stated that apart from clearing waste in major areas of the capital, similar exercises would be carried out in other towns, including Ifo, Sango-Ota and Ijebu-Ode.
He added that night operations for waste evacuation, which had earlier been suspended, had resumed.
He said: “Following a fruitful meeting with executives and members of the Ogun State Association of Waste Managers, 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.
“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 and Ifo, among others, while the ‘Night Operation,’ which had also been suspended several months back, has returned immediately in full swing.
“Night operation, which was halted months ago, has been reinstated to tackle the state’s waste crisis and restore cleanliness.”
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment urged residents not to dump waste along roadsides or medians but to hand it over to the waste managers assigned to their areas, properly packaged and placed in front of their homes for collection.
