Aregbesola ends emergency environmental exercise in Osun

[Defender]

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday lifted a 90- day emergency environmental sanitation imposed on residents.

He warned that his administration will prosecute environmental offenders henceforth.

Aregbesola spoke at the palace of the Akirun of Ikirun in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.

He said: "From today, we shall strictly enforce environmental regulations and whoever contravenes any of our environmental laws will face the music as such a person will be seriously dealt with."

He explained that the emergency period was aimed at preparing residents for enforcement.

Aregbesola said the time for encouragement and persuasion to imbibe the culture of cleanliness has lapsed.

According to him, sanitation will now hold every fortnight during which residents are expected to clean their neighbourhoods, offices, markets and other work places.

He said: "We shall now have two sanitation days in each of the month. There will be sanitation periods twice every month which will be very much like the 90-day emergency period.

Instead of weekly, it will now be fortnightly for as long as we are here as an administration.

"We have given ourselves enough period to make ourselves amenable to discipline and prepare us for the period we are going into.

''We are in the period of enforcement now. Encouragement and persuasion ends today."

Aregbesola had on June 8 declared a 90-day emergency period on sanitation to rid the state of filth.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday had been set aside as markets, offices and neighbourhood sanitation days respectively.

However, the emergency period was extended by three weeks.

It ended yesterday.

The Governor also informed residents that private public operators are being engaged to ensure smooth collection and disposal of wastes while dump sites are already in place for adequate management of collected wastes.

He appealed to the residents to cooperate with the operators to achieve healthy environment.

He reminded residents of their attribute as a clean people and said they must not allow anything to compromise their culture of sanitation.

CULLED FROM THE NATION.