Govt urges Lagosians to prioritise sanitation

  • Weekly advocacy moves to Bariga

By Oyebola Owolabi

The Lagos State government has reiterated the importance of good sanitation practices to ensure a clean, flood-free, safe and sustainable environment.

Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources Tokunbo Wahab spoke during the weekly community-based environmental sanitation advocacy campaign at Omobokun Street, Ekimogun Underbridge, Iyana-Oworo, Bariga Local Council Development Area. He noted that residents must make good sanitation practices a daily affair.

According to him, the weekly advocacy campaign was introduced to promote good sanitation practices among residents before the formal commencement of the monthly sanitation exercise.

He said: “We are trying to ramp up sensitisation and advocacy before the formal commencement of the monthly environmental sanitation which will soon be announced by the governor.

“Some houses in this area have been investigated and were found to have channeled their septic tanks into the drainages, while some have built their fences on the drainage channels. These houses will soon be sealed by the appropriate agency.

“That is why we will keep urging residents to support government’s effort through regular cleaning of the drainages in front of their houses, and to desist from illegal waste disposal. It is expedient on everyone to take ownership of all infrastructure provided by the government.”

On the perennial flooding experienced in the area, Wahab said government will reassess claims by residents that the sand-filling of the Oworo end is responsible for the flooding at Ekimogun area. He added that government is determined to proffer a lasting solution to the menace.

Wahab also maintained that the environmental advocacy campaign has been effective as communities visited earlier have sustained the spirit and are thus cleaner and healthier.

He encouraged residents to embrace good environmental habits, stressing that it would reduce burden on the health sector and ensure longevity of infrastructure provided by the government.

Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area Kolade Alabi lamented that the sorry state of Ekimogun Road due to the unsanitary habits of residents.

“We the residents of Bariga must stop littering our roads and canals with waste, we must bag our wastes in our respective homes and always patronise authorised PSP operators,” he said.

According to Alabi, the government is determined to ensure a clean and healthy environment, and so every house in Bariga must own a bin which would be provided by the government at a reasonable price.

Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Muyiwa Gbadegesin said Bariga has been picked as one of the councils to house a recycling facility. He added that the waste to wealth facility will reduce illegal waste disposal in the area.

Gbadegesin urged all residents to collaborate with the government to ensure that Lagos is free of garbage, saying waste bins will soon be made available to tenements in Bariga.

Senior Special Assistant on Environmental Health to Bariga Local Government Suliat Oguns promised that residents would ensure that waste is properly disposed and infrastructure provided by the government effectively utilized.

 

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