Hundreds, if not thousands of bread winners may lose their sources of livelihood, following the Lagos State Government’s closure of the popular Mile 12 Market.
The Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello, however hinted that the market may be re-opened if the traders were ready to play by the rules of the state government.
In a press release signed by Fola Adeyemi of the Ministry of the Environment, Bello said the closure was in order to keep a healthy and sustainable environment in the state.
The statement further states: “The Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello noted that both markets were closed for their flagrant abuse of the state environmental sanitation law and indiscriminate loading and off loading of goods on the main road, thereby creating traffic bottleneck for other road users.”
According to him, there were inadequate toilets in the market, while traders in the markets despoil the surrounding environment with human wastes.
He pointed out that the closure of the market became inevitable after several unheeded warnings to forestall epidemic and other health hazards in the state.
Bello reiterated that the fact the government’s policy of not allowing traders reside in the market was still in force, adding that markets were meant for business activities and not for residential purposes and that converting markets to residential use would evidently have untoward consequences on the environment.
As conditions for the reopening of the market, Commissioner Bello hinted that all illegal structures within the market must give way, traders in the market must make further commitment to patronizing the PSP operators and not cart pushers.
He also said that the traders must be prepared to re-organize the loading and off loading of their goods in such a way that would ensure free flow of traffic on the road.
“The traders in these markets must ensure their environment is clean, clear the adjoining road of street traders and make adequate provision for toilets to eradicate open defecation and urination, as well as sign an undertaking to abide by our sanitation laws before their markets can be re-opened,” he noted.
The commissioner further sounded a note of warning to all markets in the state that after several warnings and stakeholders meeting with respective market executives across the state, the state government will not hesitate to shut down more markets if they refuse to abide and religiously observe the state sanitation Laws.
According to Bello, in anticipation of envisaged early rains in the year, the Drainage Maintenance Department and Emergency Flood Abatement Department has commenced the Ministry work plan of massive cleaning and dredging of drains and canals across the state, so as to attain the State Zero Tolerance on flooding.
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