Environmental sanitation offenders in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, may from now, be charged to a court specially empowered to try cases of environmental abuse. The Chairman of the Council, Comrade Ayodele Adewale who dropped the hint, said the measure was taken to discourage residents from avoiding the monthly environmental sanitation.
He also cautioned against erecting illegal structures as they constitute security risk to the environment.
Adewale who spoke during the last environmental sanitation exercise in the LGA, frowned at the manner some residents channel human waste into drainage systems.
His words: ‘’ We need to start using the instrument of the law and I have beckoned on the Ministry of Environment and they have assured us that they will bring an environmental court to address the issue of offenders. I can assure you that once we have that, more people will take environmental issues serious.’’
The council chairman explained that the local government has been trying to ensure that environmental issues are adhered to. “We have had town hall meetings to that effect. We keep talking to them through the print and electronic media and also our local newsletter. If you noticed, you will discover that we distributed fliers around to discourage people from hanging clothes indiscriminately to avoid constituting environmental nuisance. There was an executive council directive that the ministry of Environment should cart away all clothes on the highway,.’’ he said.
First Lady of Lagos State, Dame Abimbola Fashola, who was represented by the wife of the Commissioner for Energy & Mineral Resources, Mrs. Azeezat Tijani commended the LGA boss for ensuring that residents carry out the exercise.
‘’There is room for improvement. Some of them did not pay for PSP so it is difficult to evacuate their waste. I will advise that they take it as a duty to buy the black nylon bags and pack it properly, to allow for easy evacuation. There are some buildings, potacabins and shops that should not be were they are erected. All those spaces were left by government for a purpose, so they should not be used illegally. The chairman is trying, but you know how difficult it is to get Nigerians do things properly,’’ she noted.
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