Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan

Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Isaac Ishola, on Wednesday, said the state government would commence total enforcement of its laws on environmental sanitation, street trading, illegal motors parks, land grabbing, urban and physical planning, across the state as from Thursday, September 6, 2018 as it gears up to introduce Ibadan City Master Plan.

The commissioner in a statement issued in Ibadan, the state capital, said beggars and destitutes littering the state will also be removed from the streets, stating that most of the destitute on the streets and under bridges have a right to survival as well as good living either by re-uniting them with their families or handing them over to collaborating non-Governmental organisations.

He said adequate sensitization and enlightenment had been carried out to stop street trading, poor sanitation habits, illegal motor parks and the destitute, noting that street trading is an act of violating the Environmental Sanitation Laws of the State as section 13 of the law states that no one should engage in street trading.

Ishola said a 12-man task force headed by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Gbade Ojo, has been set up by the state government to enforce and ensure compliance of environmental sanitation, no street trading and illegal parking, land grabbing and physical planning laws in the state, saying that the government is ready to get rid of the filth, unhygienic environment and haphazard development in the state.

The Commissioner said the state government is not interested in creating hardship for the people for the people but desires compliance with the environmental sanitation and waste management laws of the state government in fulfillment of the Ajimobi administration’s desire to build a modern Oyo State.

He enjoined traditional rulers, religious, community and market leaders to join hands with the state government in ensuring compliance with environmental sanitation regulations in order to ensure a healthier, cleaner and investor friendly environment.

He said, “We want to achieve total compliance with the state environmental laws, the cooperation of the traditional rulers, community and market leaders cannot be over emphasized. It is expedient to use alternative method if the current ones are not yielding positive results. We see the issue of our environment and sanitation as a collective responsibility, therefore, all hands must be on deck to ensure a healthier, cleaner and investor friendly environment.”