World Clean-up Day: Oyo State Government Seals Buildings

From Olubunmi Osoteku, Ibadan

The Oyo State Government has sealed off some houses and shops in, Ibadan, the state capital, over unhygienic practices.

The Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Abiodun Oni, explained that residents and owners of the affected buildings and shops violated environmental laws and failed to comply with laid down hygienic practices.

Speaking through the Special Adviser on Environment, Ademola Aderinto, the Commissioner said the buildings were sealed off during the sensitization and enforcement campaign of the state Government to commemorate this year’s World Clean-up Day.

He disclosed that the exercise was done to ensure total compliance with environmental hygiene and prevent possible outbreak of any disease, pointing out that Environmental Health officers had earlier visited the affected buildings and told the owners to do the needful but they failed to do so.

The Commissioner, who asserted that the affected buildings were responsible for heaps of waste dumped in market places and along main roads, added that the residents of the buildings do not have adequate bins for their wastes.

The government also said it recovered 5, 170 kilograms of plastic wastes and 1,100kgs of cartons, in the clean-up activities carried out in the Academy community market in Ibadan.

Aderinto noted that the exercise, which was carried out in conjunction with Waste Management Authority in the state, was also used to sensitize and educate market women on how a waste-free environment could foster better customer relations and increase sales, appealing to residents to key into the Oyo State Government’s environmental blueprint.

Aderinto noted: “Marketplaces are by nature unkempt with practices that are harmful to the ecosystem, but Oyo State Government believes that with continuous sensitization and enforcement, we can make the traders understand the importance of a neat location for business.”