The Agege Local Government in Lagos State has embarked on community sensitisation and enforcement of environmental laws to avert flooding during the rainy season.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise started on Thursday at the popular Aluminum Village Market.
Traders, who were educated on the Lagos State environmental laws, were advised on ways to keep their surroundings clean always ahead of rainfall.
Taiwo Awonuga, the Director of Environmental Health Services in his remarks urged the traders and other stakeholders to obey the Lagos State environmental laws.
Awonuga also urged them to keep their surroundings clean and neat always ahead of rainfall to avoid flooding.
The health officer decried at traders using Major Walk-Ways for commercial activities and charged them to desist from such activities and any other acts that would deface the popular market.
“We urge market traders across Agege to adhere strictly to all environmental laws.
“This will make our markets to be healthy and safe for trading activities.
“Some traders in Aluminum Village are causing environmental infractions to the community through encroachment of walk ways by erecting insanitary and illegal structures to display their goods and wares.
“Illegal street trading activities is obstructing free-flow of traffic and movement of pedestrians,” he said.
Ibrahim Adeoye, a Health Official, said one of the major reasons the taskforce team came to the market was to monitor and enforce environmental laws.
According to him, the exercise is to ensure that the walk-ways in the market are not used for trading activities and the drainages are desilted for easy flow of water.
Prince Ibrahim Adebayo, one of the Market Executive member, said that the market was one of the cleanest market in Agege Local Government area.
“This was made possible by leading by example. We don’t just leave the traders to the cleaning and evacuation of waste from the market.
“We also Join them during the exercise by ensuring that the needful is done always when it comes to making our promises clean and fit for business activities.
“We perform the compulsory weekly environmental sanitation exercise but ensure that cleanliness is the order of the day in the market through leaders example on a daily basis,” he said.
The market leader assured the council health officials that the market would always abide by the rules and regulations.
He further assured that the traders would ensure a 100 per cent compliance.