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Waste Managers Lament State of Lagos Dumpsites

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  • Waste Managers Lament State of Lagos Dumpsites

Wastes may soon find their way back to Lagos streets and roads as major dumpsites across the state have become unmanageable in recent times, waste managers have said.

When our correspondent visited one of the landfills at Igando area of the state on Friday, it was observed that the roads to the major dump areas had become almost impassable and truck drivers were in a queue to enter the dumpsite and empty their trucks, stretching up to the nearby general hospital.

One of the truck drivers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he slept in his vehicle overnight, and as of 11am, he had yet to dump the waste he brought to the site.

He said, “This affects our efficiency as waste managers because our vehicles spend days just trying to evacuate wastes, meaning that we are not able to go back and pick more wastes, which we used to do about three to four times daily, and our clients are complaining.

“We used to have one long queue in the past and it was manageable; but now, everything has become chaotic that trucks even park on the road. The other day, I got here by 11am and did not leave until 6pm.”

According to him, apart from the delay, the slippery roads leading to the dumpsites damage the trucks, adding that some waste managers had lost their trucks in the process.

Another driver, who gave his name as Babatunde, said it had become impossible for him to plan his day because of the delays, adding that on the average, he spends six hours daily at the dumpsite.

Explaining the reason for the delays, Babatunde said the Olusosun landfill had four bulldozers that push the wastes into the pits as they are dumped, but the number had been reduced to one or two sometimes.

“These are the same bulldozers that are used to push our trucks whenever they sink in the muddy road, and they damage the trucks in the process because they are not designed for that kind of job,” he said.

Our correspondent gathered that the state government had the responsibility of managing the Olusosun and Igando landfills, the two major dumpsites in the state, but recently outsourced it to private companies due to the financial burden.

Some stakeholders who spoke said the companies introduced a fee of N2, 000 every time a truck comes to dump refuse so as to help manage the sites.

The consultant to the Association of Waste Managers, Mr. Lekan Owojori of Wellbeck Consulting Limited, told our correspondent, “We agreed reluctantly, but our vehicles still spend days just trying to evacuate wastes. The N2,000 was supposed to improve services but we haven’t seen any improvement.

“The nature of the job is that a vehicle should not spend more than 20 minutes so that more wastes can be collected. A driver should be able to make three trips a day or more.”

The waste managers also alleged that some security operatives had been employed from the Odua Peoples Congress to guard the sites, but that they derived pleasure from harassing truck drivers whenever they complained about the long queue.

“Whenever I visit Olusosun, even if I spend eight hours, I try to comport myself because I don’t want anybody to harass or beat me up,” a driver said.

He said a number of truck drivers had been beaten up and hospitalised in the past for trying to force their way into the dumping area.

Owojori said, “We have complained to the government that the quality of service at the dumpsites has not improved and it is delaying our turnaround time. Over the years, we have had issues with the dumpsites, but the last administration spent a lot to keep the sites running and in good order.

“The government was spending about N300m per month before the concession, then we would dump our wastes and about four or five caterpillars will push the waste into the pit. But now, there are just about one or two caterpillars servicing these pits and we are spending a lot of time. We now have trucks that wait for two to three days.”

He added that the waste managers had not been able to get the state government to help improve the situation even after writing to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

“We wrote a letter before the raining season started and the governor replied us that the attempt to deal with it was why the sites were given out on concession, but the situation has worsened with the raining season,” he said.

The General Manager, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Mr. Segun Adeniji, told our correspondent that it had been difficult managing the dumpsites because of the rains.

According to him, there are plans by the government to reengineer the dumpsites to global standards.

“Government has a lot of plans for the dumpsites; we are working on well-engineered dumpsites but before then, we have to use these ones and manage them as they are. Managing dumpsites during the raining season is difficult; all efforts put in by the managers to put it right have been abortive but there will soon be sanity,” he said.

On the issue of security operatives beating up drivers at the dumpsite, Adeniji stated that no formal complaint had been made, adding that when concessionaires took over in April a case was reported at Olusosun and was addressed.

“So far, we have not heard about anybody being beaten up; if there is anything like that, no one has told us yet,” he said.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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N1.3bn Fraud Allegation: Court Orders Arrest of Dana Air MD For Not Showing Up For Arraignment

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Mr. Hathiramani Ranesh

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of the Managing Director of Dana Air, Mr. Hathiramani Ranesh for failing to appear in court for his arraignment in the alleged N1.3 billion fraud preferred against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF).

The Federal Government had on October 10, 2024, asked the court to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Dana Air after failing to honour invitation for his arraignment.

The AGF had filed a six-count charge against Ranesh and two others and marked Dana Group PLC and Dana Steel Ltd as the 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.

The prosecution argued that Ranesh and the two companies, along with others still at large, committed a felony between September and December 2018 at the DANA Steel Rolling Factory in Katsina.

They were accused of conspiring to remove, convert, and sell four units of industrial generators—three units Ht of 9,000 KVA and one unit of 1,000 KVA—valued at over N450 million. These assets were reportedly part of the Deed of Asset Debenture used as collateral for a bond, which remains valid.

The defendants and others at large were said to have conspired to fraudulently divert N864 million between April 7th and 8th, 2014, at House No. 116, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Isolo-Lagos.

This sum, reportedly part of the bond proceeds from Ecobank intended for revitalizing production at Dana Steel Rolling Factory in Katsina, was allegedly diverted for unauthorized purposes.

They were also accused of conspiring to transfer N60,300,000 to an Atlantic Shrimpers account (No: 0001633175) at Access Bank, fraudulently diverting funds earmarked as part of the Ecobank bond proceeds for resuming production at the Katsina factory.

The cumulative amount involved in the charge totals N1,374,300,000. Each offense is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

After Mojisola-Okeya Esho, counsel to the Federal Government, had requested for bench warrant to be issued against Ranesh, the defence lawyer, B. Ademola-Bello, disagreed with Esho, saying that they had filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter and that the prosecution had already been served.

Delivering ruling on the application, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, agreed with Esho that Ranesh’s arrest was necessary due to his failure to appear in court despite being served with the charge and several proceedings having taken place.

Justice Egwuatu held that, according to Section 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the court has the authority to issue an arrest warrant against any defendant who fails to attend court sessions.

Egwuatu ordered that Ranesh must appear before the court on January 13, 2025, before any objections can be raised.

Consequently, he adjourned the matter till January 13, 2025, for hearing.

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Persistent Service Disruptions In Banks Paralyze Activities At Ports, Many Cargoes Trapped 

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Lekki Deep Seaport

Activities at the Apapa and Tin-Can Ports in Lagos State have been paralyzed as cargoes have remained uncleared following persistent disruption to some online services of some commercial banks in Nigeria.

It was gathered that the banks suffer network problems due to the upgrade of their electronic banking portals.

To this end, business moguls have been unable to pay the Customs duty necessary for the clearance of their cargoes at the ports.

A visit to the ports showed that many import units of containers have not been cleared because their clearance documents are still trapped in some banks due to ongoing network migration issues.

If the banking disruptions persist and cargoes continue to lie fallow at the ports, experts have said that prices of goods at Nigerian markets may soar.

Many persons who have been working at the ports have also been rendered jobless as activities at the ports remain in limbo.

Confirming the situation at the ports, the National President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Mr. Frank Ogunojemite said many jobs are stuck because agents have been battling to settle payment part of their clearance schedules.

Ogunojemite revealed that the clearance of cargoes at the ports usually goes through Form M and the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), said agents have to go through a commercial bank to pay their Customs duty before any clearance process can be done.

He said if the banking system or network is down, it will be impossible for Customs duty to be paid and that container will remain in the port accumulating rent which comes with storage and demurrage payments.

According to him, prices of goods may soar if the situation persists as cargo owners spend more for clearance if their containers spend longer time in the ports.

Preferring solutions, he called on government to introduce ‘compensatory law’ where importers are given waivers when delays to their cargoes inside the ports is not from them.

Also, haulage operators bemoaned the effect of the various banking migrations on picking of containers inside the ports.Persistent Service Disruptions In Banks Paralyze Activities At Ports, Many Cargoes Trapped

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Nigerian Businesses Face Tougher Times as PMI Drops to 19 Months Low of 46.9

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Nigerian businesses continued to face headwinds as the Purchasing Managers Index published by Stanbic IBTC shows a 19-month low. 

According to the report released on Friday, business conditions took a hit and PMI dipped from 49.8 points in September to 46.9 points, the steepest decline since March 2023.

For context, a PMI reading above 50 points indicates growth in business activity. Conversely, a reading below 50 points indicates contraction, suggesting deterioration consequent to an economic downturn.

According to the report, businesses faced pressures from the local currency weakening, higher fuel prices and increasing cost of transportation.

This has also forced the hands of businesses to increase prices to sustain operations, which the report stated has led to a reduction in new orders and business activity.

Most importantly, confidence in the business sector plummeted to the worst ever since the organisation started documenting PMI in 2014.

“Overall input costs rose at one of the sharpest rates on record, with selling prices increased accordingly. This resulted in marked reductions in new orders and business activity, while business sentiment was the lowest in the survey’s history,” the report read in part.

A positive light in the report was that some companies managed to add a few new hires, extending a six-month trend of job creation. The downside to this was that the companies employed these staff on a short-term basis.

The report also stated that companies are making efforts, now more than ever, to help their staff stay afloat in the current economic situation.

“Meanwhile, efforts to help workers with rising living costs meant that staff pay was increased to the greatest extent in seven months,” the report added.

Metrics like the private sector output, volume of orders, and quantities of purchases made by customers all recorded steeper values than they did in September.

Trends showed that prices, cost of staff maintenance and input prices, on the other hand, recorded very sharp increases, with some metrics posting record hikes since March 2023.

Inflation in the general Nigerian macro environment is telling in every quarter and businesses are not exempt.

Analysts told Investors King that special interventions will help ease the pressure on companies, but warned that risky conditions attached to these measures may scare off firms from accepting them.

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