The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, has warned against unwarranted attacks on its wokers, carrying out lawful duties of waste evacuation during the day or night time.
The Managing Director/CEO, Ibrahim Odumboni, gave the warning against the background of a reported attack by suspected miscreants on a LAWMA team, on night duty around Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway.
He indicated that any such attacks again, would be met with stiff official reaction, including prosecution, to deter such offenders.
He said:” We are totally disappointed to hear about attacks on our workers, on official duty. It is totally unacceptable and inhuman. LAWMA works round the clock to ensure our environment is healthier and safer for everyone to live. Our workers do not deserve to be treated that way. Anyone caught in such act again will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
Odumboni urged the public to always cooperate with LAWMA workers, including the PSP operators, to keep the environment clean, for the good of everyone.
Michael Joseph Asst. Director, Public Affairs LAWMA
Pupils of Y2021 Lawma Academy with the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni.Y2021 Pupils of Lawma Academy at Olusosun landfill.Y2021 Pupils of Lawma Academy during training session.
LAWMA Academy, the educational arm of Lagos Waste Management Authority, will organise a four-week summer school for children aged 8 – 13, from 1st August to 26th August, at its headquarters, Ijora-Olopa, on the tenets of effective waste management.
It is the second edition of the programme which debuted last year, aimed at educating pupils on effective waste management and environmental best practice.
The Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, said the summer school was put together to groom the younger generation on the need to imbibe a positive mindset and outlook on environmental issues, during the holiday period.
He said, “The Summer School program is designed to educate children from a tender age on the concept of waste and environmental management, to raise ambassadors for a cleaner and healthier environment, with seasoned facilitators in a conducive learning environment. This will help to groom children as responsible environmental advocates while providing other fun-filled activities to aid the learning process”.
Odumboni urged parents and guardians to use the opportunity presented by the long vacation in schools to enroll their children and wards for participation in the summer school, adding that children who could not participate physically, could connect online.
According to the Team Lead of the Academy, Mrs. Elizabeth Ademola, the summer school program was structured to simplify the concepts of waste and environmental management to children, to ensure that every child had sufficient and holistic knowledge of issues bordering on environmental sustainability.
“Being an educative/social forum, we have designed various activities such as, classroom lessons, quiz competitions, essay competitions, debates, indoor and outdoor games, impromptu speeches, excursions, video games, Culinary classes, Field trips and Excursions, researches and experiments on waste management, career talks and lots more”, she stressed.
She further informed that registration for the free summer school programme would end on Friday, 29th July, 2022.
The LAWMA educational arm was recently awarded as, “The best in the promotion of environmental education to youths and students in the state”, at the 3rd edition of Lagos Waste Forum Sustainability Award, organised by Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Programme, SWEEP Foundation, at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba.
Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs 27/07/2022
The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, is clearing the backlog of waste around the city, largely through massive night operations.
The operations between the hours of 10pm and 4am, is personally coordinated by the Managing Director/CEO of the Authority, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, and have witnessed the clearance of waste indiscriminately dumped at some unauthorised locations following diesel scarcity and its exhorbitant price, which negatively affected the waste evacuation efforts of the PSP operators and the agency.
Some of the areas already covered by the intensive operations include Mushin; Oshodi; Ejigbo; Lagos Mainland; Apapa axis; Surulere; Lagos Island; Ikoyi; Lekki axis; Victoria Island; and Ajah, among others.
Recall that the LAWMA helmsman, few days ago, promised that the agency would use the opportunity of cessation of rainfall and appreciable progress on landfills’ rehabilitation, to cart away the backlog of waste.
Commenting on the progress made so far, Odumboni said: “Remember I said during the week, that we will capitalise on the cessation of rainfall and progress made on the rehabilitation of our landfills, to clear the heaps of waste.
“The strategy has paid off as we have successfully cleared waste in most areas of our Lagos Central 1 and 2, as well as East 1 and 2 districts. We are happy at the pace of progress, and the operations will continue, untill all parts of Lagos are covered”, he stressed.
Odumboni further appealed for support from residents to stem the tide of improper waste disposal, by bagging and containerizing their waste, as well as patronising assigned PSP operators, adding that those caught in the act of reckless waste disposal would be made to face the law.
“We are appealing for cooperation from all residents to restore sanity back to our environment. Bagging and containerisation of waste, while waiting for evacuation by assigned PSP operators, remains an effective means of curbing indiscriminate waste disposal. Anyone caught dumping indiscriminately would be sanctioned accordingly”, he said.
He enjoined residents with complaints and enquiries on waste management related issues in their areas, to please call LAWMA toll free lines- 07080601020 and 617 for prompt intervention.
Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs, LAWMA
The Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni, has given assurance on the agency’s determination to cart away all refuse generated during the Sallah celebrations, to leave the city sustainably clean.
He gave the indication while reviewing the Authority’s level of preparedness, to tackle the expected huge volume of waste, to be generated during Eid-el-kabir festivities.
Odumboni stated that the various operational districts have been properly positioned, to cope seamlessly with the increased volume of waste, expected from residents around the city.
According to him: “We are well aware that the Sallah period will leave us with tons and tons of waste to evacuate. Be assured that we are fully prepared and equipped for the task. It is not the first time we will be doing it; we will do it again and even better this time.
“Our various operational districts have been properly positioned and empowered to tackle the expected task. This is just to assure you that LAWMA is fully prepared for that challenge”, he stressed.
Speaking further, he noted that despite the persisting challenge of exhorbitant diesel cost, LAWMA was scaling hurdles to deliver, and has put the PSP operators on their toes, to work around the obvious challenge, and render service irrespective of assigned days to the people for the common good of all.
Odumboni noted that part of the extra measures put in place for a dirt-free celebration, include mass distribution of trash bags at praying grounds, for the muslim faithful to properly bag their waste, especially animal waste, adding that a newspaper publication of the names and contacts of LAWMA officials, has also been done, for residents to get across for prompt service intervention.
He urged residents to observed the festivities with moderation and piety, in line with spiritual injunctions, urging them to desist from dumping wastes indiscriminately on road medians, canals, uncompleted buildings and other unauthorized locations.
The LAWMA boss also stated that the Authority’s management team had been assigned to different locations around the metropolis, to monitor the environment during the period, urging residents to call the agency’s toll-free lines 07080601020 or 617, to request for prompt attention.
While wishing happy celebrations, he appealed to Lagosians to shun all acts capable of negative impact on the environment, stressing that every resident had a duty to be consciously involved in fostering a sustainable and hygienic environment.
Kadiri Folashade (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs LAWMA Thursday, 7th July 2022
Representative of LAWMA’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi received an award on behalf of LAWMA Academy, as ‘Government Agency of the Year’, at the 3rd edition of Lagos Waste Forum, organized by Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Programme (SWEEP Foundation), at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, on Thursady, 30th June, 2022.Wife of the governor of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (3rd left); representative of LAWMA’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi (m); and LAWMA Academy team, during the award presentation to LAWMA Academy, as ‘Government Agency of the Year’, at the 3rd edition of Lagos Waste Forum, organized by Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Programme (SWEEP Foundation), at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, on Thursady, 30th June, 2022.
LAWMA Academy, the academic arm of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), has received an award as ‘Government Agency of the Year’, at the 3rd edition of Lagos Waste Forum, organized by Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Programme, SWEEP Foundation, at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba.
Wife of the governor of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, who had earlier declared the event open, copiously commended the Foundation, for sustaining their environmental advocacy, which they began three years ago.
According to her, “I attended your inaugural event three years ago and it was so impressive. I am happy you have sustained the good environmental sustainability advocacy work, which has already made you a champion in Surulere area. I challenge you to replicate the good impact in other parts of Lagos State. I am also considering going into full-scale recycling business someday”.
Commenting on the LAWMA Academy Award, the Managing Director/CEO LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, represented by the Executive Director, Finance, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi, expressed delight and showered encomiums on the foundation, for recognizing the modest contribution of the Academy to environmental education and advocacy.
He noted that the unit was established just over a year ago, with the mandate of teaching waste management, as well as environmental care and sustainability to the youths and children.
He said, “We are happy that just over one year in existence, the impact of LAWMA Academy is already being felt. Our intention is to pass knowledge of waste management and environmental sustainability to children and youths, through a well designed and articulated curriculum. We are happy that it is gradually making an impact and a recognition of this, is what has given birth to this award. We thank the SWEEP Foundation for this lasting honour”.
Speaking further, the LAWMA helmsmen enjoined Lagosians, to tap the huge economic potential in recycling, and to embrace the twin-bin initiative of the Agency, to solve waste management challenges in the Lagos metropolis.
He noted also, that the role of the Authority, was to regulate the operations of the various players in the waste management space.
According to him, “LAWMA as an agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating and ensuring proper waste management, through community advocacy has visited over 30 LCDAs, sensitizing people on the need to key into recycling by separating their waste waste at source.
“Recycling is the way to go and that is a cause we champion in LAWMA. When we reduce the waste that goes to the landfills, we will have a saner and safer environment. LAWMA is not resting on its oars, that is why the management organized stakeholders forum with communities across the state, to discuss proper waste disposal and the need to embrace recycling as a profitable enterprise.”
He said further that: “All organized estates have been advised to acquire bins, so as to separate organic waste from recyclables, before PSP come for evacuation and by so doing, their waste bills will be discounted by 15 per cent”.
The Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr. Tajudeen Gaji, commended the Foundation for its result-orientated environmental sustainability advocacy, promising that the government would continue to fulfill its own part of the bargain, for a people-friendly environment.
Other prominent speakers at the programme included Mr. Ola Oresanya, a former Managing Director of LAWMA and now the Special Adviser on Environment to Ogun State Governor, who also noted that the recycling space harboured abundant economic potential, urging people to launch in, to combat unemployment and pervasive poverty.
Folashade Kadiri (Mrs) Director, Public Affairs LAWMA
We are Committed to a Clean Environment – LAWMA Boss …Appeals for waste containerisation
Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has reassured residents of firm commitment to a clean environment despite the challenge of diesel scarcity, while also appealing to them to bag and containerise their waste.
The Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, stated this on Friday while monitoring the environment, adding that efforts were being intensified, to clear any backlog of refuse, and to stop acts of indiscriminate waste disposal around the city.
He said: “We have redoubled our efforts, working round the clock to ensure that we evacuate all waste anywhere around the city. Although the scarcity and high cost of diesel has been a major challenge, as all service providers’ trucks run on diesel, nonetheless, we are doing the needful and leaving no stone unturned, to maintain a clean environment and prevent health hazard to the people”.
“Over preceding months, we have rolled out advocacy and media sensitisation campaigns, to inform and educate residents on the importance of environmental cleanliness, particularly the act of waste containerisation. We have also supported efforts of PSP operators, by providing backup services in areas that experienced service gaps, with the overall aim of eradicating black spots across the metropolis”.
He appealed to residents to properly bag and containerise their waste to allow more storage period and prevent littering.
According to him, “The resurgence of waste observed in some areas of the metropolis is borne out of the unforeseen diesel challenges the service providers are experiencing, and since tenements cannot keep waste in their houses, have resorted to bringing it to the highways, which isn’t proper.”
“While we strongly reiterate the importance of waste containers at home, we passionately appeal and canvass for public cooperation, to combat a resurgence of waste on road medians, canals and other illegal spots.”
“We are assuring Lagosians of our total commitment to rid the environment of dirt. As we work day and night to make this happen, we urge you to support our efforts because the cleanliness of the state is a collective responsibility”, he stressed.
Odumboni noted further that despite the serious logistics challenges faced by PSP operators, as a result of the increase in the price of diesel, they had continued to provide services to tenements, adding that the Authority, in order to ensure effective turnaround time of waste collection trucks, had also ensured that landfills in the state are in proper shape.
“Before now, we had carried out massive rehabilitation work across our various landfills, to improve the turnaround time of PSP trucks servicing tenements and commercial facilities in the state. This has improved condition of the sites, paving way for seamless waste collection activities”, he stated.
For inquiries and complaints about services of waste management related issues in your area, please call LAWMA toll-free numbers: 07080601020 and 617.
Kadiri Folashade (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs 24/06/2022
Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has reiterated its commitment to stamping out all forms of indiscriminate waste disposal in the state, by collaborating with various stakeholders, especially community leaders.
The Managing Director/CEO LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, made this known on Monday, stressing that the Authority had improved on waste policing activities across various communities, by strategically positioning personnel on ground, to monitor the environment.
He said, “The task of achieving a cleaner and livable environment is one that requires the involvement of all stakeholders. This is why we are working with community leaders to stamp out improper waste disposal, which has exposed our environment and people living in it, to various hazards”.
Odumboni said LAWMA’s enforcement team had embarked on a comprehensive statewide campaign, to arrest and prosecute those bent on causing environmental degradation in the metropolis, and derailing efforts of the Authority towards attaining a sustainable environment in the state.
“Our enforcement team has been made visible across various communities. They ensure total compliance with the environment laws of the state, arresting defaulters and the outlawed cart pushers in the process. Business facilities known to have contravened the laws are also being sealed off, to serve as deterrent to others”, he stated.
The LAWMA boss also charged Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area, on community waste policing, for clean and sustainable environment, while urging residents of the area, to imbibe positive attitude change towards their surroundings.
He stated that community waste policing would create employment opportunities for the youths in the council, and would also forestall indiscriminate dumping of waste on roads medians and other unauthorised locations, as the youths monitored identified black spots across the council area.
“Community waste policing is a sure way to sustain good waste management. It is also a means of youth empowerment and revenue generation. So I urge the council lawmakers to examine their bylaws and do the needful”, he stressed.
Mr. Odumboni highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of recycling and waste separation at source, noting that the process would reduce the volume of wastes reaching the landfills, while also creating jobs.
He called on residents to cooperate with the Authority by bagging and containerising their waste, as well as patronising assigned PSP operators, whose job is to evacuate waste generated by tenements, stressing that the task of keeping the environment clean is a collective one.
signed Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs 13/06/2022
The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has destroyed more than 400 carts, confiscated from pushers, who serially dump waste at unauthorized locations across the city, in clear violation of environmental laws of the state.
Commenting on the exercise which took place at LAWMA’s Ogudu facility, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, stated that the exercise which would be a continuous one, became necessary to weaken the ability of the cart pushers to return to business, and to decimate the cart population defacing the cityscape, stressing that the activities of cart pushers across the Lagos metropolis remained banned.
He observed that cart pushers posed a threat not only to environmental sustainability but to the security of residents, as many cart pushers harbour dangerous weapons like knives, machetes and others, to perpetrate criminal activities.
According to him, “Cart pushers are about the biggest threat to our effort at attaining environmental sustainability. We will not allow anyone or group of persons to derail the ongoing efforts to make the environment better. Criminal elements have hidden under this guise to carry out heinous crimes. If there are no carts to push, they will get other jobs.
“They pose as much threat to the environment as to the security of the citizens. It will shock you to know that many of them keep weapons like knives, machetes, etc, in their carts to attack and dispossess unsuspecting persons when the opportunity presents itself. One of such cart pusher was tried and jailed last week, having been apprehended at Victoria Island, vandalising and stealing government’s iron rods. There have been many reported cases of theft of movable items from people’s compounds traced to them”.
The LAWMA boss disclosed that opportunity was open for repentant cart-pushers, to step forward, get registered with LAWMA, given proper orientation, and trained as pickers and offtakers of recyclables, working hand in hand with other stakeholders in the waste management chain.
Odumboni maintained that government was not interested in taking away their means of livelihood, which however has to be within the confines of the law.
The LAWMA boss reaffirmed the agency’s total commitment to making the State’s city space an environment- friendly one, urging residents to join the Authority’s quest for a cleaner Lagos by shunning improper waste disposal, paying their waste bill and patronising assigned PSP operators.
Also commenting, the president of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, AWAMN, Mr. David Oriyomi, lauded government’s constant support for the association, promising a new era of fruitful collaboration with LAWMA.
Present were LAWMA’s Executive Director Finance, Mr. Kunle Adebiyi; Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Olohunwa Tijani; Head, Enforcement unit, Mr. Idowu Sanni; and other stakeholders.
Folashade Kadiri (Mrs.) Director, Public Affairs LAWMA
