From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The Nasarawa State government has arrested 76 persons across the 13 local government areas of the state for violating its Environmental Sanitation Laws.
The Chief Environment Officer of the state Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, disclosed this in Lafia on Saturday while briefing journalists after monitoring the sanitation exercise for the month of November.
According to him, the offenders were prosecuted by mobile courts across the state.
He, explained that the number of defaulters were decreasing due to high level of compliance by residents of the state, and called on them to sustain the tempo.
“We arrested 12 persons in Lafia, the state capital but a total of 76 people were arrested across the state.
“The level of compliance is good because all the shop owners have fully complied to the environmental sanitation exercise but the motorcycle and tricycle riders are not complying to the laws. So, we are calling on their leaders to caution them to start complying or else we will ban the use of motorcycles and tricycles in the state,” he added.
On his part, the state Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Kwanta Yakubu, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by members of the public during the sanitation exercise.
He described the level of compliance as impressive and attributed it to the support the ministry gets from security agencies, traditional rulers, the media, as well as the inspection team from the ministry.
The commissioner reassured of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s commitment to ensure that the state is kept clean to guard against the outbreak of diseases.
“His Excellency, Engr Abdullahi Sule has continued to keep his promises to the people of the state. You will recall that he promised his people three years ago that he will sustain the environmental sanitation in the state.
“I am happy to announce that Nasarawa state is one of the states that enforces a very sound and effective environmental sanitation because of the commitment of the governor. He has kept his promises and it is work in progress,” Yakubu added.
He appealed to residents of the state to continue to support the administration of Governor Sule to enable him succeed beyond 2023, in order for them to continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy.