Oyo State task force demolishes five shops, seals one petrol station

At least five shops and a relaxation joint were demolished by the Oyo State Government officials on Thursday, August 1st 2019.

A filing station was also sealed during the operation. The owners of the affected ventures allegedly violated the environmental law on building regulations as well as the failure to carry out the weekly sanitation exercise.  

The filling station, located at Orita Challenge, Ibadan, was sealed for accommodating a filthy drainage lane which environmental officers found out to be exposing residents to varying degrees of environmental hazards.

According to the Director of Engineering and Beautification, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Moshood Adeola, who led the enforcement team during the weekly environmental sanitation exercise at Orita Challenge in Ibadan, the government would not relent in enforcing the best environmental culture among the people for the sake of good living.

“The disobedience of the shop owners to vacate the premises, being a setback for the road, led to this demolition. Despite the abatement notices served on them for more than six months to vacate the premises as the continued existence of the illegal structures constituted an environmental nuisance, they did not yield and we have to come and pull the structures down.  

“Their offences range from noise and air pollution, evidence of open defecation, accommodating illicit drug users within the environment; that is why those shops were pulled down.  

“Despite the effort of Oyo State Government in maintaining a suitable and sustainable environment for all and sundry, some people still went ahead in engaging in street trading and non-adherence to environmental laws.  

“It is on record that this administration has restated that it will not renounce its stance of zero tolerance on environmental disorderliness.”