Lagos sacks LAWMA contractors over fraud

There was drama on Sunday at the Lagos House, Marina, when the Lagos State Government terminated the contracts of some operators with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.

The government said the operators violated some terms of their agreement with the government.

The PUNCH had reported that Lagos State was being defrauded of millions of naira in a scheme involving LAWMA contractors.

The contractors, many of whom are politicians, allegedly inflated the wage bills of the street sweepers and supervisors under them.

The Lagos State Government, The PUNCH learnt, pays the contractors over N560m monthly.

However, a preliminary report of an ongoing audit of the agency revealed that a huge chunk of the money was going to ghost workers and non-existent contractors.

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership had called for the involvement of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.

LAWMA, in a statement, said those indicted in the audit had been asked to go.

The statement said, “The Lagos State Waste Management Authority has announced the immediate termination of all street-sweeping briefs awarded to some companies found involved in practices violating their contracts.