The Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Agency, Mr Abayomi Hunye, has firmly rejected allegations of extortion made against him by members of the Ogun State chapter of the Association of Waste Management Vendors and Recyclers of Nigeria.

Hunye said he was considering legal action against the association, accusing it of defaming his character through the allegations.

He stressed that no member of the association had ever paid money into his personal bank account, maintaining that all payments made by waste vendors were paid directly into the official account of the Ogun State Waste Management Agency.

Questioning the basis of the allegations, Hunye said, “I wonder why anyone would categorise payments into government coffers as extortion.”

The Managing Director made the clarification on Thursday while responding to the allegations at a media parley organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ogun State.

The PUNCH reported that waste vendors had staged a protest on Monday, accusing Hunye of high-handedness, arbitrary increases in fees and extortion.

The peaceful protest took place at the Governor’s Office, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, where demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions such as “Hunye Must Go”, “Gov Abiodun rescue us from heartless Hunye”, “We want sanity in OGWAMA”, and “Enough of OGWAMA’s hardship”.

During the protest, the vendors called on Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to remove Hunye from office, alleging that his leadership had subjected waste operators in the state to severe hardship.

Responding directly to the accusations, Hunye said, “Their extortion claim is not true because I have collected no money from any of them illegally.

“They have always paid into OGWAMA’s account, and paying into government coffers cannot be described as extortion.”

Hunye also defended the decision to increase the annual registration fee for waste vendors from N100,000 to N200,000, explaining that the adjustment was reached through collective agreement with members of the association.

Providing further details, he said, “From 2021, they were paying N100,000. By 2024, I held meetings with them and explained that the cost of running the agency had risen. We agreed on N200,000, which they paid for 2024 and 2025. So why the protest now?”

He further attributed the protest to his decision to cancel multiple company registrations held by some members of the association.

Explaining the issue, Hunye said, “Some members registered multiple companies, taking business opportunities meant for others. I insisted that each member should register only one company. That’s when the extortion allegations started.”

Hunye added that the association did not submit any formal complaints to OGWAMA before organising the protest.

He also disclosed that some individuals claiming to be leaders of the association had been suspended since November 2023 and advised them to either reconcile with the recognised leadership or obtain a court judgment validating their authority.

In response, the Chairman of the association, Mrs Opeoluwa Balogun, denied the existence of any faction within the group prior to the protest, alleging that the division emerged as a result of the Managing Director’s actions.

Balogun stated that she assumed leadership of the association after the tenure of the former chairman, Mr Kunle Oresanya, ended in 2023.

She insisted that the protest was organised as a last resort after several meetings with Hunye and the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Ola Oresanya, failed to address their concerns.

Balogun accused Hunye of concentrating solely on increasing registration fees while neglecting other statutory duties, including the monitoring of unlicensed waste vendors.

Detailing the association’s position, she said, “We have text messages and recordings documenting our attempts to resolve these issues. Despite repeated efforts, the MD has ignored legitimate concerns. We will continue our protest and pursue all legal avenues to secure justice for our members.”

The association also dismissed claims of the existence of internal cabals among registered waste vendors and urged Hunye to identify and sanction any problematic individuals rather than implementing measures that disrupt their business activities.