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Tag: cleaner

  • I had only N3,800 when I returned $10,000 I found at Kano airport — Cleaner  

    I had only N3,800 when I returned $10,000 I found at Kano airport — Cleaner  

    Auwal Ahmad Dankode works as a cleaner with the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO). Despite discharging his duties efficiently, with loyalty and punctuality, he remained an auxiliary staff, working as a “contract cleaner” for more than six years.

    Last week, however, his show of honesty earned him a permanent appointment and he was crowned Brand Ambassador of NAHCO. The magic? He returned a missing sum of $10,000 to the owner.

    Juxtaposing the biting economy situation with a man who had only N3,800 in his bank account stumbling on a bundle of missing $10,000 and returning same to the owner, Dankode became a hero of honesty and forthrightness after defeating the monster of temptation.

    The aircraft, Egypt Air, from which he found the said sum, had touched down at 1:30pm. At about 2:00pm, the passengers alighted the aircraft and 10 cleaners were asked to go in and clean the 120-passenger airliner for another trip back to Cairo. Twenty-eight-year-old Dankode was one of the cleaners.

    While cleaning the aircraft, Dankode saw an envelope in the middle of the aircraft at the 25th seat. When he touched the envelope, it was not the usual one carrying a letter. Inside the envelope was a wallet. He opened the wallet, and behold, there lay the $10,000 bundle in 100 US dollar bills. In Nigerian currency, it amounts to a whopping N15 million!

    It is the policy of NAHCO that as a staff member, if you see something you should report it to the supervisor. So, when he saw the money, Dankode went to inform his supervisor, but he (supervisor) was working under the foot of the Egypt Air, supervising the offloading of baggage and fueling of the aircraft.

    He decided to go straight and hand over the money to the Kano Station Manager of Egypt Air, Mr. Kareem Gad. He also told Gad the seat number where he found the money in case the owner returned to look for it.

    Soon, the internet was buzzing with news of the incident, which got to the ears of the GMD/CEO of NAHCO, Andranil Gupta; a man who respects honesty, and he decided to change Dankode’s life. He invited Dankode to Lagos with his flight tickets to and fro paid for.

    Boarding Air Max, he was off to Lagos. Upon landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, the COO of NAHCO was there with a Prado Jeep to pick him up.

    At the head office, he was introduced as a shining example of the kind of employee the company wants. “The honesty and integrity in you are the core values of the company,” the GMD/CEO told him.

    He was rewarded with a Golden Time award and appointed Brand Ambassador of NAHCO. He was converted as a permanent staff, promoted that same time and rewarded with cash.

    Dankode’s father, Ahmad Abubakar, is proud and happy that his son has not forgotten his advice. Not only him but the entire community members are proud to have a son with his attitude.

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    “My prayer is for young ones to emulate him,” his mother, Rabi Ibrahim, said.

    Auwal Ahmad Dankode, a native of Kode village, Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of Kano State and holder of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) in Biology and Geography from the Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education, Kumbotso, Kano, had the following chat with our Kano State correspondent, FANEN IHYONGO:

    Why did you return the $10,000 you found in the aircraft to the owner when you had almost nothing on you?

    It is the policy of the company that as a staff (an employee), if you see something that is not yours, whether in the airport or elsewhere, you should say so. But before I got a job with Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and was trained, my father and mother had always told me when I was a kid that if you see something on the ground and pick it, you will turn into a yam.

    My father would always tell me: Be honest. Be honest. Be honest. When I grew up, they kept telling me that if I graduated from high school and got a job, I should not take anything that is not mine. My parents would tell me: If somebody forgets something and you come across it, give it to them. So I grew up with the habit of avoiding what is not mine.

    Someone might think you are not lacking, and that is why you did not go with the money…

    I had only N3,800 in my bank account, which I operate with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

    So, how did you find the money?

    When the passengers had walked out of the airplane, the security personnel of the airline asked us (cleaners) to go in and clean the aircraft. It is an international aircraft and it was preparing for another trip back to Cairo. While cleaning the aircraft, I saw the envelope, and when I touched it, I felt something different. I said to myself this could not be a letter. When I opened the envelope, I saw a wallet with a bundle of USDs; $10,000.

    Did any of your colleagues see you carrying the money?

    No. No one noticed it.

    What did you then do when you discovered the content of the envelope was dollars?

    I went to inform my supervisor but he was working under the foot of the Egypt Air. So, I decided to go straight and hand over the money to the manager of the aircraft. I told him the seat number where I found the money so that in case the owner returned looking for it, he could ask questions for verification.

    When I handed the aircraft manager the money, he asked me: “What is your name? I told him my name is Auwal Ahmad Dankode. He said: “You’re a very good boy.” He hugged me, tapped my back and said “We shall see after.”

    How long have you been with Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO)?

    I have been with NAHCO for over six years. But it was a contract appointment.

     What happened after you returned the money?

    Upon hearing the news, the head office of NAHCO called my supervisor, who is the head of operation in Kano. From there, I was invited to Lagos. They paid my flight tickets to and fro.

    I boarded Air Max. And upon landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, the COO of NAHCO was there with a Prado Jeep to pick me up.

    He drove me straight to the head office. There, I was taken round different offices, before going to the Conference Hall, where the chairman of the company, the DMD, Head of Human Resources (HR) and other top officials of the company were seated. At the meeting, they introduced me and said I am a shining example of the kind of employee the company wants. That the honesty and integrity in me are the core values of the company.

    What happened next?

    I was given a Golden Time award and appointed Brand Ambassador of NAHCO. I was converted to a permanent staff, promoted that same time and rewarded with cash.

    What about the owner of the dollars?

    The owner of the money wanted to appreciate me; he wanted to give me something but I refused, because of the company’s policy. He was trying to give me something but I said no, I would not take it.

  • Cleaner accused of stealing generator cable

    The police yesterday arraigned a 50-year-old cleaner, Ayuba Apagu, at an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court, for alleged theft of his employer’s generator wire valued at N25,000.

    The defendant is facing a two-count charge of wilful damage and stealing.

    Prosecuting Inspector Matthew Akhaluode alleged that Apagu damaged a Mikano generator valued at N2.5 million, belonging to his employer, a bank, in Lagos.

    He added that the defendant also stole the generator terminal cable worth N25,000.

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    Akhaluode said the offence was committed on January 14 at the bank’s Oba-Akran Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, branch.

    He said: “The guard caught the defendant when he was about to step out of the bank premises with generator copper wire tied under his clothes.”

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate A.A. Adetunji granted him N50,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She ordered the defendant to produce two sureties who must be employed and show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The case continues on February 20.

     

  • Achieving a cleaner environment

    SIR: Cleaner environment is among the yardstick for ranking cities and for attracting multinational companies. Ranking of cities is helpful in terms of employment and development opportunities. Multinational companies are attracted to set up their offices in the cities with good rankings. Avoidance of degradation is another benefit of a clean city. Plastic wastes and other such are factors that degrade the quality of the environment.

    Nigeria is obviously lagging behind among nations with cleaner environment. It is thus not surprising that it is only Lagos that has been in the ranking of 140 cities rated for world liveability cities. Environment is among the criteria for ranking.

    The attitude of Nigerians towards environmental sanitation is not positive as many have refused to make cleanliness a prime issue in spite of long established environmental sanitation laws, formal governmental structures to address cleaner environment issues and numerous campaigns on same.  The difficulty of Nigerians in allowing modernity and education to change their attitude toward orderliness has sadly made unclean environment a normal syndrome in our national life.

    The horrible attitudes towards environmental sanitation either exhibited inadvertently or deliberately by Nigerians are highly alarming and serve as indicator of level of understanding of the significance and need for a cleaner environment by Nigerians. Mosquitoes, rodents, cockroaches, reptiles, cobwebs are common features in many homes, with some even taking their dirty habit to the public arena.  The fact we all know is that mosquitoes, insects and flies carry a lot of germs and bacteria in them. They are the main transmitters of diseases like chicken pox, malaria and jaundice. We do know that these mosquitoes and pests are frequently attracted towards heaps of garbage and wastes.

    Despite the projection that about 30 states could experience flooding, it is still very common for people to create a dumping ground right beside their home or residence. Many gutters in our cities and towns are blocked due to our poor sanitation habit. It is rather awkward to see people deliberately sweeping and dumping rubbish into nearby gutters. This has continued, notwithstanding, past experience of magnitude of havoc wrecked by scandalous environmental attitude when flood sacked some States.

    One wonders why it is difficult for many among us to stop the habit of flinging the scrap papers, sweet wrappers, fruit skins, water sachets or other waste on the road or into the nearby gutter, rather than disposing it properly in a bin. This communicates no other message but foolishness and disrespect for the environment.

    Traditionally, talks on cleaner cities often centre on the role of government, legislation and law enforcement. However, examples abound where despite availability of civilized options for waste disposing like in Lagos State, people still turn canals, streams and drainages into refuse dumping sites. Nigeria’s followership problem is also glaring looking at instances when people find it difficult to appropriately deal with their domestic waste.

    Just as we lament over bad leadership and assert failure of our leaders to practice at home ideals they are exposed to when they travel abroad, we need to understand that developed nations did not get to the enviable position of having the cleanest cities in the world by merely leaving the business of environmental rehabilitation to the government alone.

    The question to discerning minds is, can Nigeria ever achieve cleaner a nation status and have many of her cities rank among livable cities in the world? Yes. We can.  But only with a change attitude. We need to change our attitude to environmental issues especially. A clean environment is the responsibility of every Nigerian, as everyone is a direct beneficiary of its consequences.

    Like famous world cities such as London, Washington, Oslo, Dublin, Paris etc., with the needed discipline and conscious determination, we could also turn most of our cities into amazing haven of cleanliness. This could begin with a simple habit of not throwing dirt in unauthorized places. It could be as simple as not urinating in public places. It could also be as simple as not patronizing illicit waste disposal agents.

    With natural disasters occurring across the world partly as a result of environmental abuse, it should be considered a wise option for everyone to have a rethink about our attitude to the environment. It is whatever we give to the environment that it gives back to us. It is that simple!

     

    • Rasak Musbau,

    Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

     

  • Council chief backs Cleaner Lagos Initiative

    Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area, Abdul Fatai Oyesanya, has urged residents of the council to embrace the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    Oyesanya said this during a sensitisation campaign of the initiative at Jakande and Mile 12 markets.

    He informed the traders that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has directed all the 57 councils in the state to ensure that people at the grassroot key into the new agenda.

    The council chief reminded the traders that government will not hesitate to close down any market that is dirty, urging them to work together as stakeholders to ensure that the surroundings of the markets are in clean state regularly.

    He told them that cleanliness of their markets should be a priority because that is where people buy the food they consume.

    Oyesanya appealed to residents of the council to desist from dumping refuse inside the drainage to prevent flooding.

    He assured them that his administration has provided adequate human and material resources to clean drainage and cart away refuse across the seven wards of the council.

    “We want our council to be the cleanness the state,” he said.

  • Who is afraid of Cleaner Lagos Initiative?

    Who is afraid of Cleaner Lagos Initiative?

    It is a glaring fact that Lagos State has taken a leap forward since former Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu initiated the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for waste collection and management in the Centre of Excellence.

    Indeed, this process has undergone several changes over the years, in the face of challenges, such as mass ignorance and apathy, huge population of about 21 million people, gross disrespect for the Lagos masterplan and the ecological issue of it being a coastal state.   And more significantly, the cleaning programme was concentrated on the city centre, while the fringe communities, including Epe, Badagry, Ayobo, Ijegun and Ikotun Egbe were not being touched.

    However, with the emergence of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who has his eyes fixed on turning the Lagos metropolis into a smart city, to rank amongst the cleanest in the world, he felt the urgent need for a holistic waste management system.

    It is against this backdrop that he approached the Lagos State House of Assembly with an all-embracing, consolidated environmental law in the state.  Good enough, the House, in its wisdom, graciously approved the take-off of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    The laudable and ground-breaking initiative offers an expansive mechanism for a cleaner, more environment-friendly smart city.  Indeed, Ambode had confessed that Lagos, as it is presently, “is not the city of my own dream”.   Besides, he also stated that the government cannot do it alone. That informed his decision to go into PPP.  But there is a lacuna, especially from those who have been profiting from this long-held initiative that has not assisted in the clean-up of the city.

    In fact, they have fought tooth-and-nail to derail this initiative. They have gone to court and lost. They have embarked on blackmail and mudslinging to no avail, because Lagosians believe in Ambode, who keeps to his promises. For instance, he successfully reformed the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) from being an aggressive, extorting agency to a more humane and efficient agency, in spite of initial hiccups.  Ditto, the gradual de-congestion of traffic and gridlock with the construction of layby and redevelopment of bus stops.

    The same doubting Thomas who erroneously believed that the governor lacked capacity, the experience and the political dexterity to run Lagos, are now shell-shocked by the phenomenal achievements in the past two years. But, they are back on the prowl.   That is, against this Cleaner Lagos Initiative which is expected to generate 27, 500 jobs, at 10 cleaners in 3,950 wards in Lagos.  With the same uniform and other modern kits, against the outmodeled system that had each cleaner being paid a meager N12, 000 as monthly salary.

    The new model would take waste management to every nook and cranny of Lagos – the highbrow Victoria Island and Ikoyi as well as far-flung suburbs of Epe, Ikorodu and Badagry.

    Sadly, the unrepentant saboteurs, who are also in the system, capitalised on the planning stage, bringing in of the equipment and execution to indiscriminately dump waste all over Lagos.  Their unpatriotic aim is to embarrass the government into abandoning the people-friendly initiative.

    Such saboteurs include a notorious politician, who has been collecting humongous sum of N1 billion yearly to clean school wastes in Lagos.  The question one should ask oneself is: how much waste is being generated in schools to warrant the payment of such colossal sum?

    It is such slush funds they are now using to throw brickbats at their political benefactors and claiming to be champions of internal party democracy. Others include those who are collecting N300 million quarterly as kickbacks from PSP operators.  This is because it is easier to cheat when you collect both industrial and domestic waste together.  But the CLI has exposed them.  So, they are crying wolf where there is none. Lagos will not move from celebrating 50 years to become a dirty state.

    But the only constant thing in life is change.  And Governor Ambode has indeed, proved beyond reasonable doubt to be an agent of true change. Lagosians trust and have confidence in him.

    Those who do not want Lagos to move forward can go excuse themselves and relocate.

  • For a cleaner Edo

    Edo State government has set a huge goal for itself to become one of the cleanest in the country within the next four years. This daunting task which comes with a lot of challenges, human and otherwise is achievable as has been proven by states like Lagos and Cross River.

    It will be recalled that successive administrations, especially the immediate past, have tried to clean up the state to no avail. Just when government thought progress was being made, it was back to status quo.

    Upon assumption of office, Governor Godwin Obaseki made it crystal clear that cleaning up the state was a path to take.

    It all started with a workshop where the idea to clean up the state was conceptualised. The workshop was the work of experts put together by the state government to find lasting solution to the environmental problems.

    The theme of the workshop was: “Enhancing Environmental Governance for Sustainable development”; a meeting which was honoured by former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke.

    Ideas were later distilled into a workable action plan that led to the activities of the task force being seen today.

    Following the workshop, the state government immediately empowered the task force comprising environmental health officers, officials of the state waste management board, and members of the Nigeria police with a mobile court, to prosecute and summarily sanction environmental sanitation and pollution management law offenders.

    The city centre, popularly known as king’s Square, was used as a test case. The Oba Ovoranmwen Square which used to be characterised by chaos, disorder and filth, was rid of all that. Sanity has been restored.

    No more trading on walkways or roads, no indiscriminate parking of vehicles, no littering or hawking around the city centre, and so on.

    The list is endless. The public has been sensitised and is still being sensitised on these issues.

    Residents are calling out to the state government to replicate the same thing in other areas.

    Success was not recorded in time past because it was conducted within the policies in the ministry, and some people were treated like sacred cows.

    No two situations are ever the same, Edo State will have to fashion out her own indigenous solutions.

    Edo State needs a lot of private participants but the initiative must be driven by government.

    Also the issue of deforestation will have to be addressed within the context of the new environmental drive.

    Edo State government is looking at converting waste to wealth, compost, beautification of public parks, creating alternative power sources that are eco-friendly and beneficial to the environment in the long run. Others include achieving zero waste landfill/engineered land fill, mopping up solid waste, eradicating child labour, educating the people on the socio-economic benefit of buying the idea, down the road. The state government has and is still employing a lot of education, sensitisation, plea, and enforcement.

    The dream is to build a state where man and environment are in harmony.

    Governor Obaseki hopes to drive the ideas and make Edo State the cleanest in the country before the end of his tenure.

    • By Queenneth Orobedo

    Benin City.

  • A cleaner Lagos

    •The Cleaner Lagos Initiative will deploy personnel and technology to lift the megacity

    As Lagos continues to live up to the challenge of a megacity, one of the major hurdles is waste. To handle this, it has to embark on a paradigm shift. This involves not only adapting to the imperatives of new technology, but also the expertise of those who manage it.

    Lagos has had, in the past decade and more, a system that involved the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) work with 350 companies under its Private Sector Participation (PSP)  programme. They have contended with a city that has risen exponentially in population and continues to expand in size. Lagos has gained notoriety as the fastest growing city on the planet with 80 people flocking in daily without returning. Every human generates wastes, and it is not supposed to be a bad thing since it is part of what makes us human.

    What is dangerous is not to have an answer to managing piles of waste. At a time, Lagos had no answer and every part of the metropolis piled with mountains of refuse, making the city a vast environmental sore of stench and dirt. Lagos became one of the worst places not just to live but to breathe.

    Efforts have been made in the past decade and a half to reduce this and that was the background to the creation of LAWMA and its partnership with the PSPs. This worked and the city was grateful for initiatives that significantly pared the wastes and showed a metropolis on course to cleanliness. Refuse piles disappeared from parts of the neighbourhoods and so did obnoxious odours.

    But the arrangement has worked for over a decade and has had to contend with a burgeoning population and increasing refuse. This has led to complaints around the city over the imperfections of the existing programme. This includes a certain magisterial arrogance of the PSPs, irregular and poor waste collection and bin placement and the chaos of the transfer loading stations. Billing system became chaotic and routes of companies tangled.

    Incidentally, the partnership between the LAWMA and PSPs expired in 2016 just in time for the Akinwunmi Ambode administration to launch what has become known as the Cleaner Lagos Initiative. Under this plan, the government will use the services of a consortium that involves Nigerians and foreigners.

    The consortium will bring in over 20 landfill and transfer loading station management vehicles, 590 new rear-end loader compactors, 140 operational vehicles and about 900,000 new bins. This new plan is powered by cutting-edge technology that will involve a control room where the bins and compactors can be tracked. Waste generated and disposed will be monitored. The existing PSPs will now take charge of commercial districts, including markets.

    It is, as Governor Ambode has indicated, not merely about making Lagos clean, but also making Lagos profitable.  Jobs will be available for 27,500 sanitation workers who are expected to be in every ward of the state, and ensure that dirt is not removed as a periodic affair but a daily engagement. For a state that spews out 13 metric tonnes of waste per day, a radical rather than incremental approach is necessary. That is what the Cleaner Lagos Initiative is pursuing.

    To enable it work, the governor has initiated a bill that reviews and enhances existing legislation to provide a platform to turn the city into a big and salubrious city. If the state is involved in infrastructure change, on the verge of major transportation transformation with parks and a nightly vision of illumination on every street, then the present waste policy must adapt to the evolving view of Nigeria’s megacity.

  • Guard, cleaner sleep off as N10m goods are stolen

    Guard, cleaner sleep off as N10m goods are stolen

    Who burgled a luxury goods store and a hair salon at No. 8a, Babatunde Anjous Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos last Saturday, carting away goods valued at over N10million.

    The police have charged a security guard Gabriel Elijah and a cleaner Eju Bright, working on the premises, with committing the crime alongside their alleged accomplices who are at large.

    The Nation learnt that last Saturday, a hairdresser employed by the salon owner, Mr Abiodun Yusuf, resumed for work at around 6am but met the building’s gate locked.

    She knocked on the gate until Elijah, who had apparently been sleeping, came out of the gatehouse to let her in.

    The lady went in but discovered that the salon and the luxury goods shop had been burgled.

    It was later discovered that the lock on the back door entrance to the building was open and the lock had been broken.

    Elijah and Bright, who also slept in the gatehouse that night, were arrested by the police from the Maroko Police Station, Lekki.

    It was learnt that they told the police that they both slept off around midnight after Elijah locked up the building and did not wake up until around 6am when they heard the knock on the gate.

    Elijah, 25, of no fixed address, and Bright, 27, of No. 50, Ojileru Street, Oworonsoki, Lagos were arraigned yesterday before Mrs. A. O. Komolafe of an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    They are standing trial on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, breaking, entering, stealing and failure to prevent a felony.

    Prosecuting Inspector Abayomi Abass told the court that the defendants and their accomplices committed the offences last Saturday between 1am and 5:30am.

    He said they broke into the shops and carted away three boxes of clothes, 17 necklaces, nine boxes of wristwatches, seven cuttage, eight Stonds earrings, seven “normal” rings, five broach channel, three sonotic rings, 10 “huge” earrings and four sets of earrings and pendants.

    Others items are three HP laptops, a Lenovo laptop, three plasma television sets, one Tecno pad 7c and one iPad among others, all valued at N10million, property of Mr. and Mrs. Enuogu Obioha.

    The duo were also accused of stealing a Samsung TV worth N130,000, an iPhone 5s worth N150,000, three packs of Dark and Lovely valued at N7,000 and one handbag valued at N5,000 property of one Abiodun Yusuf.

    Elijah was also charged, as a security guard, with failure to prevent the felony.

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened sections 285, 306, 408 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Komolafe granted them N1million bail each with two sureties in the like sum who must be gainfully employed, show evidence of three years’ tax payment and have verified addresses.

    She adjourned the case till May 23.

     

  • School honours cleaner, Chioma Ajunwa, Falz

    Additional honour came to Miss Josephine Ugwu, a former airport cleaner who became popular for returning N12 million she found at the airport April last year during the 2016 graduation of St Leo’s Catholic Private School, Ikeja recently.

    Miss Ugwu, who now works with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), was honoured along with Olympic gold medalist, Mrs Chioma Ajunwa-Opara, and budding musician/actor, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, who is an old boy of the school.

    The award was part of two days of activities to mark the graduation programme.  It opened with a Valedictory Mass at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, during which the officiating minister counseled the graduands to keep the values they learnt at the school.

    “You have had good teachers that taught you to be wise, good, kind, disciplined.  These are the people God has used to showcase his good work in your life.  You have to uphold these good virtues in your life. If you don’t, you cannot compete favourably with others,” he said.

    The school’s head teacher, Rev Sister Felicia Mary Lious, said the pupils had been prepared for life ahead.

    “In academics, we have tried all that we know is best for them – to be able to cope with the rigours or subjects that they are going to meet in secondary school.  That foundation has been laid.  Morally they are prepared.  They are disciplined; we also incorporated in them the values of honesty and hard work,” she said.

    A parent and chairman of the organising committee for the programme, Mr Remijus Nwandike, said the awards programme was incorporated into the graduation to give the pupils role models as they grow up.

    “What actually inspired me is that if you open the pages of newspaper and tune your TV what you hear is that N20 million was stolen, N1.2 million shared among people; so what do we teach our children?

    “So, I said look let us pick some people who can show the pupils that honesty, hard work pay, and that integrity still exists in Nigeria,” he said.

  • ‘Cleaner environment boost for economy’

    The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, has said a clean and healthy environment can attract more investors to boost the economy of the state.

    He spoke at a meeting of PSP Operators, Highway Managers and the Ministry at the Transfer Loading Station of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) in Agege, at the weekend.

    He sought their cooperation with the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to rid the state of filth and ensure a cleaner and healthier environment.

    “If the economic potential in the waste sector of the state were properly harnessed, it would help in creating employment opportunities and generating more revenue for the state government,” the Commissioner said.

    Adejare said the state government was stepping up its advocacy drive on a clean environment to change the behaviour of the people towards the environment.

    He, therefore, appealed for the commitment and cooperation of waste managers, urging them to respond to their responsibilities of clearing the waste generated by the citizenry.

    He warned that any operator found to be inefficient with his truck would be stopped.

    He appealed to Lagosians to shun indiscriminate dumping of refuse on roads, highways and drainages but rather imbibe the habit of proper bagging of wastes for easy collection by the operators.

    The government, Adejare further said, will soon establish a mobile court to try defaulters who refuse to pay their PSP dues. He also warned residents against patronising cart pushers as refuse collected by such unlicenced waste collectors are usually dumped in canal and drainages, which eventually end up in the waterways.

    The Chairman, Lagos Waste Management Service Providers’ Forum, Mr. Akin Adewole, gave the assurances of his group to put in a more concerted effort that will ensure that the Lagos Metropolis regain its sparkle and cleanliness soonest.

    Similarly, the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Mr.Babatunde Hunpe, implored the operators to go back to their duties with renewed vigour and ensure a cleaner environment. He urged all and sundry to join the state crusade to attain a cleaner, healthier and sustainable environment, capable of promoting economic growth and well-being of the citizenry.