Lagos Govt re-opens Alayabiagba Market
Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, reopened the Alayabiagba Market in Boundary, Ajegunle, on Saturday after the state mandated sanitary procedures were followed.
This is stated in a statement signed by Mrs. Folashade Kadiri, Director of Public Affairs for the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and made available to Lagos-based journalists.
Speaking in Ajegunle, Kadiri reported Wahab as saying that the government decided to reopen the market after certifying that all checklists provided to market officials had been adequately addressed.
Wahab stated that the checklist includes placing the Double Dino Bin within the market as well as erecting a barrier at the market’s entrance.
According to him, the government would secure the long-term viability of all sanitary legislation that control the development of market areas.
He advised market participants to always respect the environment and dispose of rubbish properly.
“We must stop littering our market with waste, segregate and bag our waste, and always patronise PSP operators, stopping illegal dumpsites on road medians, kerbs, open spaces, and road setbacks, and start policing our environment,” Wahab stated.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the commissioner and his team, along with executives from the Lekki Residents Association, inspected indiscriminate rubbish dumping in some of the drainage channels and dark patches.
The crew uncovered violations in terms of drainage alignment construction as well as property owners blocking off drain setbacks using concrete.
According to Wahab, the ultimate purpose of clearing and dredging all drainage channels and canals was to allow rainwater to flow freely.
“This explains why the government has made continuous dredging of major drainage channels and canals spread across the state a priority,” Wahab stated.
He stated that directions had been issued to serve violation notices on some of the commercial property owners on Admiralty Way for violating state environmental rules.
He emphasised that, despite the state government’s ongoing road reconstruction, the inadequate quality of drainage system management by commercial structures had severely harmed the road networks in the Lekki axis.
He highlighted that the government has zero tolerance for environmental misuse, particularly drainage blockage, and requested that the Durosimi Etti canal be beautified.
He also evicted an illegal repair workshop on Admiralty Way, opposite Parktonian Hotels, warning that if they returned, all the vehicles would be hauled away.
Mr. Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, Special Adviser on Environment, was described in the statement as urging people to stop dumping trash into drains.
Rotimi-Akiodu went on to say that the obstruction of the drains had been exacerbated by citizens’ actions, who had transformed numerous major drainage channels, including tertiary drains, into garbage dumps across the state.
He also restated the warning issued to any property owners who had built on drainage channel setbacks or drainage alignments to remove such constructions, as they impeded the free flow of water into the various drainage channels.
According to the statement, LAWMA’s Managing Director, Dr. Muyiwa Gbedegesin, the authority is now better positioned to maintain a cleaner Lagos at all times.
On Admiralty Road, the venues visited included Durosimi-Etti, Kayode Animashawun, and Olubunmi Owa, among others.
The commissioner was accompanied on the inspection by the Permanent Secretary of Drainage Services, Lekan Shodeinde, and the Permanent Secretary of Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji, according to the statement.