Ekiti govt seeks stiffer penalties for environmental sanitation offenders

Ekiti State Government has advocated more legislation that will stipulate high punishment against those blocking waterways and perpetrators of all forms of environmental sanitation offences in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr Muyiwa Olumilua, said this in Ado Ekiti on Monday during a programme tagged ‘Clean Up Ado Ekiti’ organised by Triple G Eco Revival Solutions in collaboration with the state government.

During the programme, the collaborating groups performed a street cleaning in Ado Ekiti metropolis, especially at the popular Oja Oba Market and other strategic areas within the capital city.

Olumilua, who spoke alongside his counterpart from the Ministry of Environment, Gbenga Agbeyo, said the measure would help to promote the culture of cleanliness and curtail the outbreak of infectious diseases in Ekiti.

“The outbreak of coronavirus and Lassa Fever disease was enough to convince us that we have to promote cleanliness in our dear state. We must stop blocking waterways to check flooding, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, they cause hazards of monumental proportion, ” he warned.

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Agbeyo said to promote the safety of the environment, the government has sought amendment at the assembly to the existing environmental law that would specify more stringent punishment for violators of environmental sanitation laws when passed and assented to.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Triple G Eco Revival Solutions, Oluwaseyi Ebenezer, expressed sadness about how the people are taking the environment for granted due to ignorance.

“It is sad that people are still doing open dumping of their household refuse even in the state capital. This method of waste disposal does not only litter our streets but causes blockage of some water channels making our state prone to flooding.

“Technology has made us understand that 84 per cent of our waste can be recycled. We appeal to the government  to partner with private investors who will invest in waste recycling business in Ekiti. This will not only give us overall cleanliness and stop environmental degradation but will provide employments for our teeming youths,” she said.

Ebenezer said the government must step up efforts for better and improved sensitisation that will increase people’s consciousness and how best to use the environment.