EKO HOT BLOG reports that Lagos State Government under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced the reopening of Mile 12 International Market.
It would be recalled that the government had closed Mile 12 and Owode Onirin Market along Ikorodu Road last Friday in a joint operation by the personnel of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) for indiscriminate dumping and burning of refuse.
The Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, had said that the markets were sealed because they were dirty, lamenting that all the drainages in the markets have been blocked with waste.
Wahab also lamented the menace of illegal and indiscriminate parking and the abandonment of trucks on the major road, thereby impeding the free flow of traffic.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
In a statement, however, issued on Monday, the commissioner said that the Mile 12 market was reopened after a thorough assessment, covering various aspects of environmental compliance, waste management practices, and general cleanliness within the market.
He noted that issues critical to the environment, public health and safety, were not negotiable, as the government would not watch helplessly as those values were compromised and eroded by the conduct of a few people.
“We cannot continue to be nonchalant about our environment. Our negative attitude towards the environment must stop.
”The way we treat the environment is the way the environment treats us. We cannot fold our arms and allow the nonchalance of a few, to affect the generality of the people.
“Following full compliance with environmental standards and safety measures earlier listed as a precondition for reopening shut markets, the Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate reopening of Mile 12 International Market.
“In spite of several advocacy and public enlightenment, the government is left with no choice but to enforce. The enforcement exercise will be a continuous one, as no Government takes delight in shutting down markets,” Wahab said.
He urged the traders to play by the rules of acceptable standards, putting a premium on hygiene for their health and that of the public, stressing that the government will not shy away from shutting down any market that returns to old filthy ways.
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