Ondo, firm disagree over waste management contract

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ZL Global Alliance Nigeria Limited, Dr Abiola Bashorun, on Friday, accused the Ondo State Government of not fulfilling its part of the agreement signed on the waste management of the state.

The ZL Global Alliance was contracted by the state government to manage the waste in the state, some years ago, but the two parties have been disagreeing with the contract in recent times.

The state Commissioner for Environment, Mr Oyeniyi Oseni, had earlier said the government had terminated the contract with the waste management company over the alleged failure of the latter to live up to expectations but the firm’s GMD, Bashorun insisted that the contract with the government subsists.

Oseni said the government had decided to disengage the company and started engaging Private Sector Participants in waste collection and ensuring proper environmental sanitation.

He said, “The waste private company (ZL Global) has failed us, we would collect all our equipment from them. We need the PSP to be back to work on all their zones. I want to also make it clear that we are not owing any partner, we are not owing ZL Global.”

However, the ZL Global boss alleged that the state government had failed on its part to pay her company on a monthly basis as stated in the contract signed with the state government, insisting that the contract still subsisted.

According to her, the contract was signed in 2015 and amended in 2019 and 2023.

“The ZL Global Alliance is the major partner of the state government in the private sector and our contract is with Ondo State government. I want to say categorically that none of our contracts with the Ondo State government has neither elapsed, expired nor recalled.

“The contract we are holding is a concessional agreement signed by all the three arms of power in Ondo State. If you are seeing some service issues, it is because the government has not paid us this year.

“It is worthy of note that this has become customary that the Waste Management Authority finds it difficult to process payment on time amidst these economic challenges.

“Diesel price has gone up by 200 per cent, and all lines of indices to this contract have gone up. So, we wait for them to pay for the contract to continue.

“In line with the contract, Ondo State pays monthly and this is the end of the first quarter and we have not received a dime from the government.

“Although just now, I got information that our payment for January is being processed. We await the payment and will do the needful after payment. So people should disregard any information that is contrary to this,” Bashorun explained