Kwara State Government on Monday said that operations of scavengers have been prohibited in the Ilorin metropolis, the state capital, as part of new strategies to eradicate indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.
Speaking during the inauguration of an Environmental Taskforce charged with ensuring compliance with the new environmental strategies and guidelines in Ilorin, the state commissioner for Environment, Hajia Nafisat Buge, advised all previously registered scavengers to do their business at the government refuse dump site at Sokoto-Aiyekale off the expressway in the state capital.
The commissioner said that over 300 environmental task force officers had been mobilised to keep 24-hour environmental surveillance and enforcement in five units of over 70 earmarked locations in the metropolis.
Buge, who vowed that anyone caught dumping refuse indiscriminately in any part of the state would be prosecuted according to law, said that punishment ranges between N50,000 fine for individuals, N150,000 for corporate outfits, and between N250,000 and N500,000 for big firms as well as six months jail term.
She, however, said that the ministry formulated a third option in the form of community service for a number of days for offenders found guilty of indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
The commissioner said that members of the task force comprised 75 environmental volunteers, men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, vigilance teams, legal officers, Ilorin Emirate Development Progressive Union, and environmental officers, among others.
“We are in the season when indiscriminate dumping of refuse is more rampant.
“It is, therefore, pertinent for a responsible government to take action in order to sustain a clean and hygienic environment for the healthy living of its people.
“The menace of indiscriminate dumping of refuse is an unacceptable phenomenon that requires urgent attention, most especially within the metropolis.
“The attendant dangers and effect of this menace is alarming and could be devastating if left unattended.”
The Environment Commissioner said that the ministry had undertaken sensitization activities with different stakeholders, including traditional leaders, the market traders’ Association, the road Transports, the Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive Union, the Youth wings, and many other interest groups.
“We have in the process received blessings and support of all the aforementioned stakeholders, including Mai Martaba, Sarki-Ilori, Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of Kwara State Council of Chief, HRH, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu Gambari and all the Baloguns and Alaguas of the Ilorin Emirate.
She also called for cooperation and support of all to ensure compliance with the new sets of strategies to foster a cleaner and greener Kwara under the present administration in the state.
“It is illegal to dump refuse on road medians, road dividers, roundabouts, gutters, drainage channels, and waterways.
“Trading activities beyond the gutter on the roadside is not acceptable and will be penalized.
“More roll-roll (waste) bins have been provided at strategic locations to serve as collection points for onward conveyance of waste to the government-approved dump site.
“The 38 registered Commercial Waste Consultants have been charged to be more responsive in their duties of providing services to the populace at a token amount.
“Medium-sized ‘Waste Collection bins’ have also been designed for shop owners and households to ensure proper disposal of refuse.”