Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has urged the people of the state to show more commitment to public hygienic, stating that government would not hesitate to sanction anyone who violates environmental safety laws.
The Governor made the appeal on Saturday in Aramoko-Ekiti, one of the areas in which he monitored the monthly environmental sanitation exercise.
Governor Fayemi, decrying the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains, canals and unauthorised sites, as observed during the monitoring exercise, directed officials of the Ministry of Environment to ensure proper monitoring of canals and arrest anyone caught flouting the order.
Fayemi, who also monitored the exercise in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and Ijero-Ekiti, said efforts were already in top gear towards the implementation of the action plans for the eradication of open defecation in the southwestern state by 2022.
According to him, the enforcement of the monthly environmental sanitation was one of the strategies to accelerate the implementation of the roadmap that would eradicate open defecation in Ekiti.
He assured the people of his administration’s readiness to provide the needed impetus by increasing the number of public toilets and enhancing access to water in the state, adding that the state government would set up an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with basic public hygiene requirements.
Fayemi, alongside other government functionaries, visited illegal refuse dumpsites, drains and canals in the post office area, Oja Bisi, Orereowu, Okeyinmi, Atikankan, Irona and Fayose Market all in Ado-Ekiti as well as Aramoko and Ijero-Ekiti. The team comprised of the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Gboyega Agbeyo; the Chief of Staff, Hon Biodun Omoleye; Special Adviser on Waste Management, Mr Adebayo Kelekun and Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Jimlas Ogunsakin
Speaking on the theme of this month’s exercise, ‘Open Defecation Is An Invitation To Epidemics, One House, One Toilet Is The Answer’, Fayemi said the sanitation exercise should not only be made a monthly affair but should be practised on daily basis.
He urged the people of the state to demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting the government’s efforts in making the Ekiti free of open defecation.
“As much as we love our people to regard the last Saturday of the month as a day of cleanliness, every day, as a matter of fact, should be devoted to clearing our environment,” the Governor said.
“And you may recall that barely two weeks ago, the Minister of Water Resources came to join me with other critical stakeholders in addressing the question of open defecation in Ekiti State because Ekiti is really one of the bad spots as far as open defecation is concerned.
“Part of the reason why we are doing this is to further identify how to accelerate the implementation of the 13 points that I spoke about that day, including increasing the numbers of public toilets, ensuring that our people comply with basic hygiene requirement and enforcement on our part.
“So that we compel people to do the right thing because people don’t voluntarily do the right thing, government has a duty to ensure that they do the right thing,” he added.