Nigeria, May 26, 2016 – The Lagos State Government has cancelled the monthly environmental sanitation slated for Saturday, May 28th, 2016.
The exercise was cancelled as a result of students sitting for the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) on Saturday.
In a statement, the state government said it lifted the restriction order on human and vehicular movement in order to allow for free movement of examination materials and also for students, invigilators and other stakeholders to participate effectively in the extermination.
Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare who announced this however, urged Lagosians to still clean their homes and clear the drains in their neighbourhood so as to prevent flooding and to allow free flow of water as the raining reason gathers momentum.
He stressed that the monthly cleaning exercise will resume next month.
The commissioner said that it has become imperative for the State Government to waive the restriction order so as to not to jeopardize the future of the candidates whose counterparts in other parts of the federation will write the same examination.
“As a responsible and responsive government, we value the education of our children very dearly and therefore resolved to relax the order in the interest of the future leaders of tomorrow,” Dr Adejare added.
“As we are all aware, Lagos is a Coastal City that has high water table levels and prone to flooding whenever it rains. We must therefore imbibe habits which will reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of flooding in the State” he said and enjoined Lagosians to shun acts that could aggravate the adverse global climatic conditions, noting that “people should not dump waste in unauthorized places like canals and drainage channels.
He said that the target of the state this year is to sustain past record of flood abatement, thus making it possible for the State not to experience flooding as in the past years, adding that, “this can only be achieved through effective collaboration of the people.”
He said that the issue of sanitation has become very critical, especially with the geometrical population explosion in the state, adding that the regular clean-up for a healthier, cleaner and Sustainable Environment has become a matter of survival for residents.
He urged the residents, to ensure that their environment is kept clean at all times and free from storm water stagnation, which could also be a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other health hazards.
Adejare advised Lagosians not to patronize cart pushers who end up dumping the wastes into canals and Lagoons adding they should dispose their waste through LAWMA/PSP Operators.
