Olugbenga Ige In a bid to curb the spread of cholera, the Ogun State Government has threatened to shut down any market found guilty of improper waste disposal and entrenched in dirty practices. This, it stressed is a step that would be taken in the overriding public interest. The warning was given by the Special Adviser to the governor, who doubles as the Managing Director of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority, Abayomi Hunye, during a meeting on Friday with the executive and members of the Ogun State Association of Market Men and Women in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The threat was contained in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday. According to him, at the moment that the country is battling to overcome the outbreak of cholera, there is a need for proper waste disposal and general cleanliness in all markets as they are rallying points for the purchase of all commodities such as foodstuffs, provisions and other items. Hunye added that improper waste disposal in markets breeds rodents, vectors and flies, which infest commodities sold to the public, which will lead to diseases among residents.
He said, “In Ogun State, the government has provided big waste collection bins in most of the markets with some serviced by Waste PSP Operators, so the traders in various markets have no reason not to properly dispose of their waste. “However, some of the traders, with their market leaders looking away, dump their waste in their immediate surroundings, especially.
