The Lagos State Government has warned market leaders not to jeopardise efforts to prevent flooding and stated that any market found to be dumping waste indiscriminately or blocking drainages will be closed down.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Dr Wale Ahmed, gave the warning at a one-day seminar organised in collaboration with the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) in Agege.
Dr Wale said that the need to revisit the issue of market sanitation and security has become imperative, considering the increase in population and waste generation in the State.
In his words: “The benefits and advantages of sanitation in our markets cannot be overemphasised, considering the fact that we have 382 registered markets in Lagos State.
Given the untoward incidents occurring everywhere, it will not be out of place that vigilance and intelligence gathering should form part of our primary responsibility.
This will help us be proactive and be steps ahead of anyone or groups planning to degrade the environment”.
In her keynote address, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Chairperson of COWLSO and wife of the State Governor, underscored the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in the marketplace.
Health deserves attention by emphasising that there is a direct relationship between the state of the environment of a particular geographical location and the welfare of the people living there.
“It is important that we appeal to our market men and women to do away with unhygienic practices including indiscriminate dumping of waste, blocking of drainages and street trading.
The truth of the matter is that it is in our collective interest to imbibe international best practices in administering markets and protecting our environment”, Dr Sanwo-Olu declared.
According to her, the issue of hygiene and cleanliness in markets is paramount, and that all stakeholders must take every step possible to promote a healthy and secure marketplace.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Belinda Odeneye, instructed all market women and men to maintain proper hygiene.
She stated that market leaders should make sure sanitation and security are prioritised in all markets until those markets become a model for other markets in Nigeria and Africa at large.
Market leaders and stakeholders were assured by LAWMA’s Managing Director, Mr Ibrahim Odumboni, that the State Government had equipped the agency with all the resources needed to ensure markets are clean, promising that the agency will leave no stone unturned.
Chief (Mrs) Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja-General, has called on market leaders to maintain sanity in the markets by preventing market people from selling wares and products beyond their allotted limits.
The event, which was also attended by the Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye; CP Hakeem Odumosu (represented by ACP Ola Agboola) and other stakeholders, is one of the contributory efforts of the First Lady, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, through COWLSO, to ensure markets in the State are clean and secure.
