OYEBOLA OWOLABI FROM THE NATION
With just a few weeks to the 2023 general elections, it’s been one endorsement after another for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. At a mega rally organised by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), members of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), popularly known as private sector partnerships (PSPs), also publicly threw their weight behind the ambitions of the two APC gladiators. OYEBOLA OWOLABI reports
The other day, it was the labour unions, which unanimously adopted Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as their preferred candidate for Lagos State governor and Obafemi Hamzat as deputy governor. The unions didn’t stop there. They endorsed also the ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari whose tenure will end by May 29.
Before the latest wave of endorsements, group after group have signified intentions to adopt Sanwo-Olu as their choice for governor for another four years in Lagos and Bola Tinubu their choice for president. One such group is the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), popularly known as private sector partnerships (PSPs). The group expressed its choice at a mega rally organised by the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).
The President of AWAMN, Dr David Oriyomi, who gave an overview of LAWMA since its inception, praised Tinubu for having the foresight to establish a long-term initiative that performs dual roles: empowering the people and keeping the environment clean. He said: “In 1999 when Tinubu became the governor of Lagos State, he inherited a state which was overcome with waste, and was labelled one of the dirtiest in the world. “Tinubu had the option of bringing a foreign company to manage the situation, but he chose to empower the people with his famous quote ‘If our people cannot clear their cities, what can they do?’
“Tinubu nurtured and empowered the waste managers through the small-medium business model. Successive administrations have built on a solid foundation. Through this initiative, Lagos was transformed and it received numerous accolades as one of the cleanest states in Nigeria and Africa. When our livelihood came under attack and 350 businesses were faced with the risk of bankruptcy, Tinubu came to our rescue by speaking out for us and thereby securing our livelihood.
“Today, the small business model he established has been replicated in over nine states in Nigeria and other West African countries. It is, for this reason, that we, as an association, are fully committed to voting and campaigning for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the next president of Nigeria.”
