Adamawa sanitation officials clamp down on defaulters amid poor compliance

Officials of the Adamawa State Government on Saturday reacted to the poor response to the observance of environmental sanitation by disrupting the activities of traders and other artisans who were carrying out their businesses during the exercise.

The morning of the last Saturday of every month is designated by the state government as a time when every resident should clean their surroundings, with movement restricted between 7 am and 10 am for the exercise.

To enforce the restriction and encourage participation in the latest clean-up exercise, members of the Adamawa State Monthly Sanitation Committee toured parts of the state, particularly the capital, Yola, where they encountered a significant number of defaulters.

They seized utensils from roadside food vendors, extinguished cooking fires used by bean cake fryers, and scattered tables on which some traders displayed their wares.

Some of the communities visited by the committee members include Jambutu, Wauro Jabbe, Bachure, Jimeta By-pass and Nasarawo, all in Yola North Local Government Area.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mrs Syngana Dadah, lamented the apparent decline in residents’ enthusiasm for the environmental exercise, as many continued to operate businesses despite the restriction on movement.

She said her ministry, in collaboration with the sanitation exercise enforcement committee, would intensify efforts to educate the public on the importance of the exercise and encourage a higher level of compliance.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Adamawa State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Umar Ibrahim, spoke in a similar vein, suggesting that a house-to-house awareness campaign would promote compliance with the monthly exercise.