You might be wondering, why the State Government(Lagos) would shut down peoples building and shops, but the act is well justified. On Thursday, The Lagos State Government on sanitation matters sealed off 13 buildings on Nnamdi
Azikwe Street in the Idumota area which it said were sources of
environmental pollution. Officials of the Lagos State
Environmental Protection Agency in company with some policemen conducted
an early morning raid on the street. They shut the buildings which were
partly residential and commercial, saying they indulged in dislodging
human waste into public drainage channels. Our correspondent, who visited the area,
observed that odour of human waste, was oozing out of the drainage
channels connected to many of the houses...
.
General Manager, LASEPA, Mr. Rasheed
Shabi, said the action followed series of warnings issued to the owners
and occupiers of the houses. He said, “We actually received petitions
from concerned residents of the area about the activities of some
people on the street. And from our investigations, we realised that a
lot of buildings on that street have toilets with no septic tanks. “And whenever they pass out their waste,
it directly dislodges into the drainage channels which in turn washes
into streams, rivers, lagoon and other water bodies. This act has been
causing water pollution and contaminating aquatic life. When the fishes
are eaten, it could lead to outbreak of diseases. “Initially, we engaged the residents by
issuing them warnings and over the past three weeks we have been urging
them to stop to no avail.’’
Shabi, who described the level of
pollution in the area as worrisome, said the sealed buildings would not
be reopened until the affected residents sign an undertaking to contruct
their septic tanks. He added, “We are not victimising
anybody but trying to improve and safeguard the quality of life and the
environment. If people at the helms of affairs can’t protect the lives
of citizens, what then is the essence of government? One of the affected residents, who
identified herself simply as Peju, said she knew about the warnings
after her building had been sealed, saying she was not aware that the
residents were causing any environmental pollution. She said, “This is really unfortunate.
Where do they want us to sleep? I just got to know that we were served
notices today. The person who received the notice on our behalf didn’t
inform us. But we regularly engage in the cleaning and clearing of the
said drains.”Meanwhile, the agency also sealed off
two giant generators in a residential apartment on Magbon Close, Ikoyi.
The agency said the emission from the generators constitute “nuisance
and discomfort to residents.’’So then the question now is, how would they claim their properties and what will be done as well for the sealed building to be opened again? We just hope this is not an extortion means.
0 comments:
Post a Comment