Placing bills indiscriminately is an offence – AEPB

Head of information and outreach programme unit of Abuja environmental protection board(AEPB), Mr. Muktar Ibrahim, in a chat with HELEN OJI, speaking on the issue of indiscriminate placement of posters and environment implications.

Are there specific place to put posters in the FCT?

Abuja is expected to be the best capital city and things are expected to be done properly according to the law. This is a period of electioneering and everybody is struggling for a space to sell their candidate, AEPB is saddled with the responsibility of maintaining Abuja environment and we operate under the AEPB ACT 10 of 1997, in that law it is an offence for anybody to place posters or bills indiscriminately and if it is not on billboards you cannot paste anything, in the areas that are prone for sure. you see people paste their posters, bills on the bridge and walls which is an offence and anybody caught in the art will be fine with the sum of N5000 or the person will go into prison for 6 month.

As there being any arrest of anybody find guilty?

People should be properly guided that when you are caught you will not be spade, some people have been arrested in this season of politics trying to get publicity for their candidates. Some people were arrested at Gana street for putting posters on the wall. We have department which is for advert and to regulate how the advert materials are placed and if you look at the fined you will see that the fine is too small. That has necessitated a 2day retreat by the AEPB and to bring the ACT into reality because the ACT as we speak is 21years and so many things have developed within the FCT, population and so we ought to bring the ACT up to the current reality. Lagos have upgraded their ACT and we hope to be the foremost environmental agency in Nigeria and all of Africa. Whoever put posters order than billboard is guilty of an offence and if you must put posters, you need to get clearance from the regulatory department for the outdoor advert, the need to get clearance from to identified the locations where they can post their bills.

What is the level of preparation towards the ACT of AEPB?

We should obey the rules and regulations of the environment to have cleaner and healthier environment in the country. We hope the ACT will come as quickly as possible and there are process to be followed and the management, stakeholders had held a retreat to come out with their own position paper which will go through the legal frame and also their will be a public hearing and it will go for the national Assembly hearing so they need to finally pass the ACT, they are in the stage of bringing out the legal frame from all the contribution made by the stakeholders, so very soon there will be a public hearing to follow this where other suggestions and input will be collated before it goes to National Assembly.

Isn’t your responsibility to evacuate the dirt in the satellite town and there other agent that are responsible?

AEPB is saddled with the responsibility of cleanliness in the city centre it functions extends beyond the city center and Abuja is divided into 6 area councils, this area councils have a role to play in guaranteeing a safe environment. So we try to collaborate with them and interestingly, the recent retreat brought in some of the head unit in the area council to the retreat, so that they can also make their input. The area councils are part of AEPB, we do supervise the satellite town but they have a role to play to keep the environment clean in the satellite. Our role is to clean the city and why the area councils are to clean the satellite town. Whenever our attention is called upon, we intervene in order to avoid break down of epidemic in that particular area council. We are constantly in touch with the area councils and environmental departments. We are also talking to them, so that they will know the areas to clean and we will relate to them concerning some of the complaint. The residents should also complain to the areas councils where ever they find the environment dirty.

What is your advice to the residents of FCT?

Nigeria is an example of paradox where you tell people don’t this and that is when they will do it. As Nigerians we should emulate what other countries are doing to have a greener environment especially when we want to be among the civilised country in the world.

LAWMA threatens to close Ladipo Market over indiscriminate waste disposal

The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) said that it might close Ladipo Market in Mushin, till further notice, if the waste situation continued unabated.

LAWMA’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Obinna Onyenali, said that the attention of the authority had been drawn to the unwholesome environmental practices being carried out by traders at the Ladipo Market.

Onyenali said that such practices had resulted to indiscriminate dumping of waste and degradation of the environment.

He said that the authority had, in recent times, doubled its efforts to ensure that business transactions in all Lagos markets were conducted in a clean and safe environment.

According to him, the authority has doubled its efforts through timely deployment of trucks for waste evacuation and sweeping of the markets.

“However, these efforts are being tainted by the activities of mischievous persons who would rather dump their waste indiscriminately on the roads than patronise their assigned Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators.

“LAWMA condemns in strongest terms this unwholesome act, being perpetuated by the traders of Ladipo Market, as it exposes the environment and the people that do business there to various health hazard.

“The authority seizes this opportunity to urge the merchants at the market to turn a new leaf or face the consequences of the Law.

“If these heinous acts against the environment continue unabated, the market will be shut till further notice, ‘’ he said in a statement.

Onyenali said that LAWMA wanted all markets to comply with the Environmental Laws of the state, which was essential for building a cleaner and healthier environment that everyone would be proud of.

“The Authority appeals to all residents in the state to always imbibe the habit of effective waste management by bagging their waste for easy evacuation by their assigned PSPs,’’ he said.

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