TheCable

Private sector participants (PSP) operators in waste management have expressed different opinions on the decision to work with the Lagos state government and Visionscape Sanitation Solutions on Cleaner Lagos Initiative.

In a statement released on Sunday, concerned stakeholders of Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWMN), faulted an earlier statement credited to a group within the association, which distanced itself from the agreement to work with the state government to get rid of filth adorning major streets and highways.

That statement had been signed by Oladipo Egbeyemi.

In a statement signed by Kasumu Afis Olasehinde of Gafista Concepts Limited, AWMN said the initial statement showed that members of the group cared less about the interest of Lagosians.

AWMN comprises of 48 PSP operators.

“We have been rendering unequalled outstanding waste management service to Lagosians for decades and it is the state of things that necessitated our group’s initiative to offer help and also collaborate with Visionscape,” Olasehinde said.

“The Visionscape group sees us as partners who will learn a lot from each other and they are willing to collaborate with us to make Lagos clean.

“We also state that the wellbeing of Lagosians is utmost in our mind, and as we approach the raining season, we cannot just watch but also intervene to avoid epidemic.

“We can’t afford to let the Cleaner Lagos initiative fail, because if it does, we will also be considered as failure, hence a need to take responsibility as a people-oriented group to render service whether paid or unpaid.”

He said there was no existing agreement between the state government and PSP operators, and wondered why some aggrieved members were working against the state government.