The Lagos State Government, LASG, has announced that Ladipo and Oyingbo markets would be shut on Thursday, September 22, 2022 till further notice following reckless waste dumping and refusal to pay for waste services, and general poor waste management situation.
Managing Director/CEO of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, who gave the notice, described the unwholesome environmental practices by traders in those markets as unacceptable despite repeated warnings.
Odumboni said that their activities have called for necessary and immediate 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 said that the authorities had, in recent times, redoubled its efforts to ensure that business activities in all Lagos markets were carried out in a clean and safe environment, for the good of all.
Odumboni noted further that “We have intensified our sanitation efforts by deploying trucks to clear black spots across the metropolis, especially business facilities.
“However, these efforts are being tainted by the activities of mischievous persons who would rather dump their waste indiscriminately on the roads, than pay for waste services.”
He urged traders in other markets to adhere strictly to environmental hygiene or risk indefinite closure of their markets.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the LAWMA, formerly known as Lagos State Refuse Disposal Board (LSRDB) at inception was established in 1977 vide Edict No. 9 of 1977 when it was glaring during Nigeria’s preparation for Festival of Arts and Culture (Festac ’77) that the then two Local Government Councils, namely Lagos Island and Lagos Mainland, could not cope with the volume of waste resulting from the oil-boom stimulated economy and its attendant influence on migrants into the new capital city from the rural and less developed areas of Nigeria and neighboring West African countries.