Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has read the Riot Act to the Heads of Local Government Administration (HLAs) and environmental health officers in the 11 Local Government Areas in Ibadan land over the mounting refuse in parts of the state capital.
Besides, the governor also declared his administration’s readiness to ensure strict enforcement of the state environmental law in order to keep Ibadan and the entire state clean.
Ajimobi, who moved round Ibadan metropolis to assess the environmental situation, expressed displeasure with the delay in the evacuation of refuse on the media strips on some major roads in Ibadan.
Specifically, the governor frowned upon the failure of HLAs, environmental health officers and the State’s Waste Management Authority to be alive to their responsibilities in maintaining a clean environment.
He said, “This is embarrassing. This government is known for its credentials in environmental cleanliness and urban renewal. We won’t allow anybody to dent such credentials.
“Everybody must work now. We are prepared to sanction people for inefficiency and services not required. The whole place is dirty. It’s a disgrace. From now on we will clean Oyo State again.
“We are educating and enlightening our people now. We are informing them on what to do, soliciting their support. We are going to engage more youths to enforce sanitation laws. We will fortify the environmental officers and bring in more people.”
The governor said it was unfortunate that most of the residents, particularly traders within the state capital, had yet to fully comply with the state environmental laws by refusing to vacate the road sides.
Ajimobi said that residents must contribute to the environmental cleanliness crusade by adopting attitudinal change from indiscriminate refuse dumping and street trading.
At some points, the governor chided some HLAs under whose jurisdiction heaps of refuse were left unattended, warning that anybody found wanting henceforth would face the music.
Ajimobi also addressed traders at Ojoo Market and solicited their cooperation and support in his administration’s quest at ensuring a clean environment and stoppage of road side trading.
The governor enlightened the traders on the dangers and health hazards inherent in trading by the road sides.
In her remarks, the Iyaloja of the market, Alhaja Fausat Oluwakemi, blamed unknown persons who operate under the cover of darkness for the refuse dumped on the U.I –Ojoo highway median strip.
She solicited government’s intervention to ensure prompt arrest of those responsible for the indiscriminate refuse dumping, adding that their appeal to the police in this regard had been rebuffed.
In his reaction, the governor advised the traders to organize vigilance groups that would monitor the movement of such people and copy their vehicle number plates if they could not apprehend them.
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