The Kwara Government has, in the past few days, sealed off 14 buildings due to environmental concerns, the state’s Commissioner for Environment, Hajia Nafisat Musa-Buge, said on Thursday.
Musa-Buge told newsmen in Ilorin that the development was a result of the buildings’ dirty environments, which were believed to negatively affect the community.
“This is necessary to reiterate the government’s commitment to sustaining a hygienic and safe environment,” she said.
The Kwara government officials had, on Wednesday, sealed off eight buildings at Sabo-Oke in the Ilorin South Local Government Area of the state.
Additionally, environmental health officers last week sealed off six buildings on Onikun-Kewu Street, in the Adabata Area of Ilorin.
Musa-Buge stated that the buildings in these residential areas violated the state’s environmental laws, and sealing them off was intended to prevent an outbreak of cholera and other related diseases.
She affirmed the commitment of the state’s current administration to maintaining a clean, hygienic, and safe environment for the people of Kwara and potential investors.
“It is no longer news that Environmental Health Officers across the 16 LGAs have begun the enforcement of environmental laws.
“This is especially through house-to-house inspections of toilet facilities to sustain the healthy living of residents.
“This initiative has already started yielding positive results,” the Commissioner said.
Musa-Buge noted that despite incessant advocacy by the ministry on the need to stop open defecation and build standard toilets, some houses still expose human excreta to the environment.
“This occurs through their defective soak-aways.
“But this practice is dangerous to the living conditions of the residents in these areas,” she said.
The Commissioner assured members of the public of ongoing house-to-house inspections across the state to ascertain the level of compliance and to enforce environmental laws.
She therefore urged Kwara residents to cooperate with the state’s current administration in its efforts to promote a clean and safe environment that would be habitable for all.
The Commissioner also urged landlords to build standard toilet facilities in their respective houses, warning that anyone found wanting would be prosecuted accordingly.