By MORONKE BOBOYE

Some residents of Moricas in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State on Saturday decried delayed waste evacuation and blocked drains in the community, urging urgent government attention.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the residents said that bags of refuse litter their streets due to lack of evacuation by Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators.

Alhaja Sherifat Popoola, the Chairperson of Community Development Committee (CDC) of Moricas, said, “PSP operators have delayed refuse evacuation for weeks.”

According to her, flooding has worsened in the area because of blocked drainage channels.

She said that although the local government provided two compactors for refuse evacuation, PSP operators’ efforts had been inadequate.

“A small rainfall requires canoe to leave homes, drains are blocked and flooding is constant,” she said.

Popoola said that the CDC had met with representatives of the local and state governments.

“They promised solutions but we beg them to treat this as an emergency.”

Mr Akeem Ogunsina, a youth leader in the community, told NAN that Moricas was filthy due to lack of refuse disposal.

He said that the residents were willing to pay for PSP operators’ services but would want value for their payments.

“Residents are willing to pay but services must be delivered. We told them to, at least, evacuate refuse for those who paid,” he said.

Mr Johnson Osaigbo, Councillor representing Ward D in Agege Local Government, also said that PSP operators had not shown up in the community for some time in spite of letters to them.

He said that although some residents were owing PSP operators for refuse evacuation, their absence had discouraged further compliance.

“If they come regularly, residents will pay. Their inconsistency worsened the situation,” Osaigbo said.

A member of the community, Mr Rafiu Ajayi, said, “We paid N6,000 for four months, yet refuse was last packed in March.”

He said that the community had become filthy, expressing fear of disease outbreak.

He said: “During the last environmental sanitation, PSP operators ignored us and refuse generated from the clean-up is still left unpacked.

“When rain fell, the refuse blocked drains. Our efforts were wasted.”

Another member of the community, Mrs Ramota Shittu, said that PSP operators promised but failed to evacuate refuse from the community.

“We are tired of waiting, we need urgent intervention,” she said.

A NAN correspondent, who visited the community, observed that it was filthy. (NAN)

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