The Lagos government says it will go tough on scrap dealers, aka ‘iron condemn’, to curb their untoward activities.

The secretary to the state government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said this while speaking with journalists after the quarterly meeting with paramilitary agencies in Ikeja.

Ms Salu-Hundeyin said from grassroots information, there was the need to work on the scrap dealers, as some of them were agents who steal things across the state and sell them to people.

“They steal some of the lighting on the bridges, the iron and rail guards, and all that. We intend to look into all this. Today, we talk about those stealing our manholes, apart from the fact that it can cause accidents. It is hazardous to people driving or walking around. Anybody can fall inside; a car can fall inside, and it can cause an accident.

“We are doing a lot about them. That is why we hold these meetings. These scrap dealers have been told today that a lot of these are being used for untoward activities, that they just pretend they are the ones that go on the bridges and vandalise the lights.

“They steal them. They now sell to some people. So, now that we know, though we knew before and we are doing something, but now it is been reinforced. I can assure you, give us some time,” she said.

She also discussed the issue of using pedestrian bridges, as some people were not using the bridges.

“We discover that it is not really all the time that people are reluctant, but some other factors that cause it, like the fact that some of the pedestrians, particularly those that are covered by billboards, are not safe. People are afraid to use it because of some people who attack them. This, the state, is going to be also discussed and looked into,” she said.

Mr Salu-Hundeyin said that the issue of drug abuse among the youth was discussed, and reports indicated that there was a reduction of the menace in Lagos.

(NAN)