2nd December, 2021
Adejoke Adeleye/Abeokuta
Ogun government said it has arrested 124 persons engaging in open defecation in various parts of the state for contravening the state’s environmental and health laws.
Eighty two of the offenders arrested in Mowe-Ibafo axis of Obafemi-Owode local government were subsequently sentenced to various community services.
Speaking on the arrests, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Environment and Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun State Waste Management Authority, OGWAMA, Mr Ola Oresanya, said the offenders were apprehended as parts of efforts at stopping the indecent habit, make the state open-defecation free and maintain the environmental safety of the people.
Oresanya added that the bad habit which are mostly done late in the night and at dawn have negative implications on the immediate communities where they are practised and the state at large especially during as the world is ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added that the state government will not fold its hands and watch few dirty individuals put the health of the majority at risk through their shameful act.
While reiterating that arrest of offenders will continue as the state has zero tolerance for open defecation, Oresanya warned drivers of articulated vehicles and their cohorts who transit through the state, especially at the Mowe-Ibafo axis to stop defecating on medians and roadsides while on stopovers.
He urged them to visit public toilets provided by the state government for their conveniences instead of engaging in such ignominious practice.
Oresanya also used the opportunity to announce that all petrol stations and eateries in the state have been mandated to make their conveniences available for the public as part of their corporate social responsibility.
He added that the state government has also identified over 100 other locations for construction of public toilets through public-private partnership as part of efforts at making Ogun open defecation free.
Oresanya therefore called for cooperation of all households, Community Development Associations and visitors to the state to make this a reality.