Residents of Oshodi, Mafoluku, Shogunle and Ewu-tuntun (OMSE) communities have decried the use of policemen by Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators for not accepting ‘arbitrary increments in waste disposal bills imposed by the companies’.
The Chairman of OMSE communities, Mr Babatunde Faleye, who journalists recently, said the companies which the Lagos State Waste Management Authority engaged as PSP operators in the communities have engaged the services of the police to intimidate the leaders of the community after the representatives of the communities wrote the Lagos State government through their lawyers to demand the reversal of imposed the arbitrary bill for waste disposal.
Faleye stated that though the state government through its supervisory ministries have acknowledged their petitions and promised to look into the matter with a view to resolving the grey areas, the companies have dragged leaders of the communities to court.
He said the companies are seeking an order to compel the people to pay the arbitrary waste disposal bill, among others.
According to him, they are concerns that the government promised to look into.
He said the companies also petitioned the police, alleging that they did all manner of things despite the pendency of the suit before the court.
The leaders of the communities dragged to the police and court are Faleye, Comrade Ayinde Olawale Saheed, Mrs Ogunsanya Feyisare Oluwatoyin, Comrade Oladeji Aare Mudashiru, Mr. Ben Milers Nkem, Mrs. Anike Ajayi and Comrade Lawal Ekudayo.
In a letter written to the General Manager/CEO of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, dated March 30, 2023, which was obtained by SaharaReporters, the communities demanded the immediate reversal of the reviewed domestic waste charges and implementation of weight-based/pay-as-you-throw pricing model in computing waste tariffs.
The communities in the letter signed by their lawyer, Festus Ogun Esq, said in part, “Sometime in September 2022, by separate notices published through your Private Sector Partnership (PSP) Operators namely Excellens Links Limited and TUNAP Waste Company, you whimsically increased the service charge for waste disposal by one hundred and fifty percent (150%).
“Specifically, in a notice dated 13 of September 2022, you astronomically increased the waste tariffs and disclosed to our clients that a single room will now be charged for N900.00 monthly as against the earlier sum of N200.00, a room self-contained to be charged N1,750,00 (as against the earlier charge of N500.00), a shop to be charged N1,000.00 (as against the earlier charge of N300.00).
“Similarly, you introduced the sum of N2,000.00; N3,500.00; N1,500.00 and N3,000.00 as waste service charge for a block of flat, duplex, shop, attachment and warehouse respectively.
“Without any iota of doubt, the increment of the waste tariffs is illegal, arbitrary, draconian, exploitative, unfair, harsh, unjust, unjustifiable and falls short of international best practices.
“In a series of letters written to you directly and through your licensed PSP Operators the receipt of which you acknowledged our clients consistently demanded for an urgent review or reversal of the increments. These modest demands were, unfortunately, ignored and refused.
“Disturbingly, our clients are well aware that the fees imposed through the PSP Operators in Oshodi, Mafoluku, Shogunle and Ewu-tuntun Communities of Lagos State, Nigeria are not the same with those of other areas.
“To put it better, our clients are made to pay waste tariffs that are way higher than those of residents in other Lagos communities. This is unacceptable. Again, there is no legal or moral basis for this wild discrimination which is against the spirit and letters of our laws.
“Further, our clients are deeply concerned about the imposition of charges on each room in every building in their communities. In fact, residents who occupied “room and pallor” are being separately charged for the room and the pallor. This practice is unjust, unfair and illegal. Your operators are not empowered by law to invade the privacy of citizens’ homes as protected under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Though the communities said the percentage increase is 150, SaharaReporters’ calculation which was based on the figures provided shows the hike is about 350 per cent.
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The communities soughtan “immediate and complete reversal of the new Waste Charge as contained in the notice dated 13th of September, 2022 to the initial rates which are more fair, legal, equitable and reasonable”.
In the letter, they also called for “immediate abolition of room-by-room/shop-by-shop charges imposed upon our clients and other residents by your operators and implementation of moderate charges on a building-by-building or complex-by-complex basis.
“Introduction of pay-as-you-throw tariffs which will be estimated per liter of waste generated from a specific building in place of the illegal and unjust fixed and estimated rates imposed on rooms and flats within a building.
“Immediate restraint of your operators from illegally invading into the privacy of our clients’ homes, under any guise whatsoever, as guaranteed by law. And substitute for the current PSP Operators.”
Faleye told SaharaReporters that following the receipt of their letter, the companies and their collaborators in LAWMA petitioned the police against them.
The police thereafter summoned the residents for not accepting an increment of waste disposal charges.
The police letter of invitation sent to the leaders of the communities was signed by Asst. Commissioner of Police (SEB) ACP Lawrence Iwodi.
The letter reads: “The Nigeria Police is investigating a complaint addressed to Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi-Lagos in which your name has featured.
“It is requested that you kindly report at Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi-Lagos, on Thursday 13th April, 2023 at 1000hrs, in this regard. On arrival you are to meet with SP Akpoyibo Ovie who will attend to you.
“This is a fact finding invitation and your attendance is very important, please.”
The chairman said though he was not around, other leaders/representatives and members of the communities were at Alagbon on Monday to write their statements.
He disclosed that he would be at the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex on Friday to also honour the invitation.
“They wouldn’t be using the police to intimidate and force us to pay such crazy and inhumane bills. We refused to be intimidated. There should be a striking balance in business,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a Motion on Notice filed at Magistrate Court of Lagos State, Oshodi Magisterial District, marked Misc/M08/8/02/2023 between Excellens Links Int’l Company and Mr David Oriyomi as Applicants Vs Engineer Babatunde Faleye, Mr Oladeji Aare Mudashiru, Mr Olawale Ayinde and Alfa Jamiu, who are the Defendants, the company is asking the court to stop the defendants from protesting against the imposed waste bill for one year.
The court document obtained by SaharaReporter reads, “AN ORDER of this Honourable binding the Respondents over/ mandating the Respondents to keep the peace and be of good behavior and stop sponsoring protests/ publish malicious contents against the applicants for a period of one year.
“AN ORDER OF INJUNCTION restraining the respondents whether by themselves, servants, agents and/or privies from further harassing intimidating, assaulting, embarrassing and/or threatening the lives, the business and properties of the Applicants by publishing, circulating and/or caused to be published or circulated any malicious publications, protests via electronic means against the Applicants as regards increase in the waste bills within the Oshodi Local Government Area, Lagos.”
