The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA), Mr. Abayomi Hunye, has dismissed a recent protest against his leadership, describing it as “misguided, unfounded and driven by vested interests seeking to perpetuate illegality.”
Salient Times reports that a Members of the Association of Waste Management Vendors and Recyclers of Nigeria, Ogun State Chapter, on Monday, protested what they described as high-handedness and alleged extortion by the Special Adviser on Environment and Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Agency, Abayomi Hunye.
But Hunye, in an official statement issued on behalf of the agency, said the protest was staged by individuals who no longer have legitimate standing within their own Vendors’ Association.
According to him, the individuals parading themselves as aggrieved vendors were suspended by their association as far back as November 20, 2023, several months before he assumed office as MD/CEO of OGWAMA.
“The facts are clear. These individuals were suspended by their own association long before my appointment. Their actions have nothing to do with my leadership, but everything to do with unresolved internal issues,” Hunye stated.
He further disclosed that prior to his appointment, multiple petitions had been written against the same group to OGWAMA and other relevant authorities, including the Department of State Services (DSS), the Ogun State House of Assembly, and the Nigeria Police Force.
Hunye explained that the petitions were authored by the leadership of the association itself, raising serious concerns over the conduct of the suspended members.
“The suspension was based on documented allegations of fraud, misrepresentation and forgery. These were not arbitrary decisions but matters that were formally recorded,” he said.
The OGWAMA boss stressed that upon assuming office, he made it clear that the agency under his watch would not compromise institutional standards or condone any form of illegality.
“My refusal to aid, abet or shield wrongdoing is the real reason behind this protest. I will not sacrifice due process for personal convenience or pressure,” Hunye declared.
Reacting to claims that he personally collected money from the protesting group, Hunye described the allegation as false and misleading.
“It is quite surprising that I am being accused of collecting funds when all available payment evidence clearly shows that such monies were paid directly into the coffers of the Ogun State Government,” he said.
He noted that since he assumed office, OGWAMA has introduced impartial, transparent and accountable operational policies to sanitise the waste management sector in the state.
One of such reforms, he said, was the discontinuation of multiple and illegal registrations by individuals, a practice he described as harmful to public interest.
“This group vehemently opposed the reforms because they benefitted from the old, illegal system. Change often meets resistance, especially when it ends illicit gains,” Hunye added.
He maintained that OGWAMA would not interfere in the internal affairs of associations, urging the aggrieved individuals to resolve their disputes through lawful means.
“My position remains consistent and unequivocal: associations must resolve their internal disputes internally, while OGWAMA will continue to uphold the law,” he said.
Hunye warned that the agency would neither tolerate nor overlook illegal activities under any guise, regardless of pressure or public theatrics.
He reassured residents of Ogun State of his personal integrity and commitment to transparency, accountability and due process in the discharge of his duties.
“I am a man of integrity, and I will not, under any circumstance, compromise the principles that guide public service,” the OGWAMA boss affirmed.
He urged members of the public to disregard the claims and actions of the protesters, describing them as attempts to blackmail the agency into reversing reforms.
“Their allegations are clearly aimed at pressuring OGWAMA to permit practices that are illegal and against public interest,” Hunye said.
He reiterated that OGWAMA remains focused on its statutory mandate of effective waste management and environmental protection across the state.
According to him, professionalism and environmental sustainability remain the core values guiding the agency’s operations.
Hunye added that the agency would continue to work in the collective interest of Ogun State, irrespective of distractions.
“OGWAMA will remain steadfast, focused and professional in serving the good people of Ogun State,” he concluded.
The statement ended with a call for public understanding and continued support as the agency intensifies efforts to entrench transparency and accountability in the state’s waste management system.
Also in a press conference addressed by the Chairman of the Association of Waste Management Vendors and Recyclers of Ogun state, Mr Adesanya Kunle, the Association confirmed that the protesters had been suspended indefinitely since 2023, insisting they are no longer authentic excos of the Association.
Adesanya also disclosed that the group of people who were suspended due to their involvement in unlawful practices, subsequently formed another association- ‘Association of Waste Managers, Vendors and Recyclers of Nigeria, without approval from the state government.
“All these people parading themselves as the authentic members of the association are not. They have been suspended since 2023 due to illegal practices which are against OGWAMA and the state government. They were involved in multiple atrocities and they were suspended for that. I wrote the then Commissioner of Police and the Commissioner for Environment and copied the DSS.
“Part of the policies of the state government that a company must not register more than one venture, but these people were going against that policy.
“The reason they staged the protest against the SA/MD, Mr Abayomi Hunyen was because he is a man who would not condone corruption and these set of people wanted him to approve or embrace their corrupt acts and because they couldn’t have their way, they decided to level unfounded allegations against the MD.
