Stop turning markets into dumpsites or have them shut – Ogun Govt warns traders

The Ogun State Government, through the Ogun Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, has warned traders to stop depositing waste inside markets, stressing that it later turn to dumpsites and constitutes environmental and health hazards.

The Managing Director of OGWAMA, Farouk Akintunde, noted that if they fail to yield the warning, the markets would be shutdown in public interest.

Akintunde, who doubles as the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun, gave the warning after the evacuation of waste deposits at the Farmers Markets, Solu Road in Ifo and Mamu Market in Ifo and Ijebu North local government aeas of the state.

“A situation where market leaders dump waste inside their markets instead of depositing them at designated points for proper evacuation by government-licenced waste collectors is not only unacceptable but constitutes environmental and health nuisance to the market.

“Aside from that, these heap of waste exposes food items sold at these markets to avoidable contamination that could lead to possible food- poisoning which may lead to health challenges to the general public thereby exposing residents of the state to undesirable diseases.

“Markets operates in clean environment with proper waste management and not haven for illegal waste deposits because it is a public place where we all buy what we consume. Exposing what we consume to waste is not acceptable and will not be tolerated under any guise whatsoever,” he added.

Akintunde noted that the state government will not fold its hands and allow few market leaders and traders expose food items to avoidable health problems due to their care-free attitude to waste evacuation.

He warned that failure to clean clean the markets would leave the government with no option than to close the facilities.