Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Right Honourable (Pastor) Kola Oluwawole has urged the people of the state to be more committed to the monthly environmental sanitation in order to prevent the breakout of epidemic.
He made the call in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, shortly after the exercise in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Saturday.
Oluwawole said though some residents substantially observed the sanitation, the fact that some motorists and okada riders were moving about parts of the town during the restriction period put a question mark on the importance attached to the sanitation exercise.
“We need to define the premium we put on this monthly sanitation exercise. A law is a law. If we agree that once in a month, for only three hours, we should all remain at home to clean our environment, I see no reason why some people should be moving around at that period as if they are above the law.
“We keep saying this so that people would not turn around to blame the government when epidemics land on our laps. I believe that three hours in a whole month is not too much to sacrifice for the sake of our health and that of our children.
“I wasn’t happy as I observed that some people, mostly okada riders, were moving about during the sanitation period. We need to attach more importance to the exercise. I commend those I saw cleaning their environments during the time. But it is a culture that all of us must imbibe,” he said.
The Speaker added that government was putting in place more measures that would ensure that residents took the sanitation exercise more seriously, adding that the measures would soon be made public.
He said the Ayo Fayose-led administration placed more premium on prevention of outbreak of diseases than seeking for solutions after problems had arisen, maintaining that sanitation laws would be strictly applied to curb such breeches.
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