One of the opposition parties in Lagos State, Action Democratic Party, has called on the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, to immediately attend to the several months of unpaid salaries of street sweepers who stormed Ikeja, the state capital, in protest on Monday.
The party in a statement by its Lagos State Publicity Secretary, Prince Adelaja Adeoye, noted that the manner the street sweepers are being treated by Visionscape and Lagos State Government is unfair.
According to ADP, Governor Ambode allegedly pulled down the effective PSP service that had tried to keep the Lagos environment clean and replaced it with Visionscape that its services has repeatedly failed to improve the environmental outlook, waste management and disposal system of the State even with all the bogus sophistication.
The ADP said since Visionscape came on board, dirt had littered the entire state, while the workers they engaged to help take the garbage off the streets being owed several months of salaries, with no payment of hazard allowance or provision of basic working tools and other benefits.
The party said it was shameful that the street sweepers had to protest at the seat of Government on Alausa to show their displeasure, stressing that the people’s welfare should be the utmost concern of the government.
The ADP said with the resources available to the State Government, the people engaged to make the state cleaner should not be owed one kobo.
The ADP said it is inhuman the way the street sweepers are being tossed between Visionscape and the Ministry of the Environment for their payment.
It said government should not allow innocent workers to suffer untold hardship for rendering service to Lagos State.
The party said since Visionscape has failed to make Lagos cleaner, but rather subjected it to a more filthier environment, which can lead to outbreak of contagious and viral diseases, the Lagos State government to revert to the former PSP waste management and disposal system.
The party said the public cannot feel the benefit of the billion of Naira investment of the State in the so-called Visionscape project.
The ADP said waste management should not be a big deal.
It said part of its plan for Lagos State is convert waste to energy, which will create more power and employment for Lagosians.
The party also said it will come up with effective waste management and disposal system to ensure that Lagos is not frequently littered, as it is today, to mitigate against possible outbreak of any kind disease, urging the state government and its appointed agent, Visionscape to immediately settle all the salaries and other benefits accrued to the street sweepers.