The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) said on Friday that it might close Ladipo Market in Mushin, till further notice, if the waste situation continued unabated.

LAWMA’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Obinna Onyenali, said that the attention of the authority had been drawn to the unwholesome environmental practices being carried out by traders at the Ladipo Market.

Onyenali said that such practices had resulted to indiscriminate dumping of waste and degradation of the environment.

He said that the authority had, in recent times, doubled its efforts to ensure that business transactions in all Lagos markets were conducted in a clean and safe environment.

According to him, the authority has doubled its efforts through timely deployment of trucks for waste evacuation and sweeping of the markets.

“However, these efforts are being tainted by the activities of mischievous persons who would rather dump their waste indiscriminately on the roads than patronise their assigned Private Sector Participation (PSP)operators.

“LAWMA condemns in strongest terms this unwholesome act, being perpetuated by the traders of Ladipo Market, as it exposes the environment and the people that do business there to various health dangers.

“The authority seizes this opportunity to urge the merchants at the market to turn a new leaf or face the consequences of the Law.

“If these heinous acts against the environment continue unabated, the market will be shut till further notice,” he said in a statement.

Onyenali said that LAWMA wanted all markets to comply with the Environmental Laws of the state, which was essential for building a cleaner and healthier environment that everyone would be proud of.

“The Authority appeals to all residents in the state to always imbibe the habit of effective waste management by bagging their waste for easy evacuation by their assigned PSPs,” he said. (NAN)