LAGESC renews resolve against  street trading, hawking

In line with the mandate of the present administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at promoting a cleaner, hygienic and aesthetically resplendent environment in the state through advocacy, as well as ensuring total enforcement of the Environmental Sanitation laws of the state, the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) is set to commence “Operation Zero Tolerance for Street Trading and hawking” across Lagos. It says it will liaise with the appropriate stakeholders before massive enforcement and implementation of the policy. 

According to Adebayo Kehinde of the

Public Affairs Unit, LAGESC, the Corps Marshal of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), CP Akinpelu Gbemisola, (rtd) disclosed this today at Alausa, Ikeja during one of his advocacy campaigns to the President-General, Association of Commodity Women and Men of Nigeria, Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.

According to her, ‘’the present administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has maintained its resolve for a greener and cleaner environment; it’s, therefore, important to seek the support of your association and members to key into this vision towards ensuring adequate synergy to completely eradicate street trading, hawking, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and other environmental nuisance in Lagos State as it relates to our market places.’.

Mrs. Akinpelu noted with dismay the activities of street traders, displaying of goods on roads setbacks, walkways and hawking on highways which impede the free flow of traffic coupled with littering of dirt the roads, stressing that these prohibited acts expose traders to hazards like in the case of brake failure among other catalysts of auto accidents.

While appreciating the tremendous contribution of the leadership and members of this body towards the socio-economic development of Lagos State being the commercial nerve centre of the country and to the growth of the economy at large, the corps marshal, however, appealed to them to ensure proper waste disposal and desist from patronising cart pushers who most times dump refuses into drainages and canals which causes blockage for the free flow of water.

The corps marshal urged the members of the association to always avail the agency of relevant information, complaints, and suggestions on the activities of the agency or its operatives as well as refuse to offer a bribe to any of the operatives.

In her response, Mrs. Tinubu-Ojo appreciated the corps marshal’s intention to sanitise the environment and expressed her readiness to partner the agency in the area of advocacy to traders in markets across the state. She, however, appealed for a human face in the agency’s operations with traders and assured of increased assistance from the body.