Waste Disposal: LAWMA Seals Markets, Plazas in Ayоbo-Ipaja

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Some markets and plazas in the Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State have been sealed by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

The facilities were closed by the agency over alleged indiscriminate dumping of waste in the council.

Affected are Rock of Age Plaza, Ajerogun I Market, Ayobo Market and Oba Plaza, all within the Ayobo area.

The chief executive of LAWMA, Mr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed that action was taken following repeated environmental infractions and failure to comply with his organisation’s directives.

According to him, his men swung into action and sealed the markets and plazas on Sunday during an intervention to clear waste backlogs in the area.

He explained that the enforcement operation complemented LAWMA’s ongoing waste evacuation and environmental sanitation intervention within the axis, where operational teams had continued to clear accumulated waste from Oluwaga Bus Stop by Sawmill, Ayobo Road median by Rainoil, Atan Nla by TCN, Ayobo Police Post, Megida Bus Stop and other identified locations.

The LAWMA boss said that the authority would continue to combine waste evacuation with sustained monitoring and enforcement to ensure that cleared locations do not relapse into waste black spots, adding that lasting environmental improvement requires the cooperation of residents, traders, businesses and other waste generators in complying with approved waste disposal arrangements.

He reiterated that the agency would continue to take necessary enforcement measures against individuals, markets, plazas and other facilities that violate environmental regulations or contribute to indiscriminate dumping.

Mr Gbadegesin urged residents and businesses in the axis to support the ongoing intervention by patronising their assigned PSP operators, disposing of waste through approved channels and refraining from activities that could undermine the ongoing efforts to restore and maintain environmental cleanliness.