300 street sweepers sacked in Lagos

There is confusion regarding the actual employers of the 300 street sweepers’ supervisors that were recently sacked in Lagos State, according to Agency reports.

Environmental Utility firm, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions Ltd (VSS) told newsmen on Sunday in Lagos that the supervisors were employed for the State Government, under the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

Mr Adebola Shabi, the Special Adviser to the Governor on CLI said the government had nothing to do with the news making the rounds that it had sacked the 300 supervisors.

Shabi said that the CLI contracted Standard Street Manpower Ltd. (SSML) on the employment of street sweepers.

According to him, Cleaner Lagos is a government initiative, not a contractor, while Visionscape is the contractor, hence, government can decide it does not want Visionscape but Cleaner Lagos will remain.

“Maybe it is Visionscape that sacked them, Cleaner Lagos has not sacked anybody.

“SSML is a consultant to the state government on engagement of sweepers but we have told them that at the end of June, all sweepers should be handed over to the Ministry of Environment.

“We don’t know any issue about the sack; I have been trying to get the information from Visionscape and they are directing me to their head office.

“The sack has nothing to do with Cleaner Lagos because we did not employ and we did not sack. Lagos State does not believe in sacking people,’’ he said.

The Head, Corporate Communications, VisionScape, Mrs Motunrayo Elias, told NAN that the company was not the only contractor under the CLI.

Elias said that when the structure for waste management was put in place, government said it wanted street sweepers to clean the inner streets, among other arrangements.