Don’t turn mechanics village to refuse dump site, Artisans beg Gov Sanwo-Olu

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The Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) on Wednesday appealed to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State not to convert the approved Ojota Mechanics Village to refuse dump site.
The NATA’s Chairman, Ojota Branch, Mr Prosper Ampeh, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Ampeh said that the association had information that the management of Olusosun refuse dump site was making a move to extend their operations toward the mechanic village.
According to him, the association has been informed to vacate four hectares of its site being used as Ojota Mechanics Village for the purpose of extending the Olusosun refuse dump site located at the entrance of the state.
“We are begging the state governor, and at the same time sending save our soul message to him to consider the over 4,000 artisans working at the village currently.
“There are over 4,000 different artisans working in the mechanic village, excluding the Industrial Training (IT) students from various tertiary institutions coming for their practical; the state government should consider our appeal,” he said.
Also, Mr Rasak Ayoola, a former Chairman of the association, urged the state government not to throw artisans at the mechanics village to the labour markets.
Ayoola insisted that many artisans would become jobless if their workshops were taken away from them.
He said families and dependants of the artisans would also suffer as a results of this development.
“This is a mechanics village approved by the state government, and it has been in existence since 1982.
“We are paying our dues accordingly to both local and the state governments.
“Our members participate effectively during election period; government should not compensate us in this manner by throwing us out of our jobs with this decision, we are begin the governor to consider us,” he said.
Ayoola noted that the presence of refuse dump site at the entrance of the state was not advisable.
He said the state government had made a pronouncement of evacuating the dump site from Ojota so as to give a good impression to visitors coming to state for business or for tourism purpose.
“Presence of dump site in such a strategic place is no more befitting the state that is working toward becoming a mega city.
The state government should expedite action on evacuation of the refuse site from its entrance to give good impression to visitors.
Commenting, Mr Shina Oyekunle, also a former association Chairman, decried the level of environmental and water pollutions the refuse had caused to various communities in the area.
According to him, many residents within the community find it difficult to access portable water from underground due to pollution from the refuse site.
“We can’t dig well in this community because the water has been polluted as a result of refuse being buried in large quantity on the ground at the dump site.
“Many well waters have been polluted; residents are very careful to drink well water in this area as result of pollution,” he said.
NAN reports that Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) said plans had been concluded to decommission its Olusosun and Solous Landfill sites.
The LAWMA Managing Director, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said that the decommissioning was due to urban encroachment and increased human activities around the areas.
Gbadegesin said that the move became necessary as both sites drew close to the end of their lifespans.
The LAWMA managing director had said that the process of winding down activities at the landfill sites had commenced.
“The government is opening a new chapter in modern waste management for the state through a number of comprehensive short- and long-term strategies.
“The strategies include the reactivation of Kesse Landfill Project at Badagry; construction of additional material recovery facilities and transfer loading stations around the metropolis,” he said.

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