Kogi State Government has given a 7-day ultimatum to traders to remove illegal structures erected by them outside markets and stop roadside trading in the state.
The State Commissioner for the Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Rosemary Osikoya, handed down the directive on Friday while sensitising market women on environmental sanitation in Lokoja.
According to her, the ultimatum is necessary to make sure that roads and markets in Kogi are free of illegal structures and ensure a clean environment for healthy living.
“We urge you to remove your tables and goods on the roads and junctions between now and the next seven days, or face the full wrath of the law.
“We have given enough warnings to traders and have explored every avenue to ensure full compliance, but it has yielded little or no results, hence the need for total enforcement.
“At the end of the ultimatum, we will swing into action by using everything within our might to remove all illegal structures, tables, and goods, and defaulters will be appropriately sanctioned by law,” Osikoya said.
The commissioner, therefore, urged the traders to obey the law by staying within the confines of the market.
Mrs Florence Joseph, the General Manager, Kogi State Sanitation and Waste Management Board (KSSWMB), told the women that selling by the roadside was risky.
“We want you to inculcate the habit of cleanliness by always sweeping your surroundings and maintaining a sanitised and hygienic environment,” she said.
Earlier, the wife of the Speaker, KSHA, Mrs Hajia Hadiza Imam, and the wife of Lokoja LGA Administrator, Mrs Fatima Lawal, charged the market women to support government policies and programmes, to ensure a safe environment.
Credit: NAN
