The Chairman of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Wasiu Lawal, has warned landlords and residents against sanitation violations, particularly the dumping of refuse and feaces waste into drainage channels and canals.
Lawal gave the warning during a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday organised by the African Foundation for Environment and Development, in collaboration with the Ado-Odo/Ota Citizens Engagement Platform, with support from CIVICUS.
The meeting provided residents with an opportunity to engage directly with the local government chairman on development priorities and challenges affecting communities across the 16 wards of the council area.
Responding to concerns raised by community leaders who are members of 10 thematic Citizen Groups covering sectors such as health, education, electricity, environmental management and infrastructure, Lawal expressed concern over the continued practice of dumping waste into drainage channels.
He described the practice as unpatriotic and warned that it could expose residents to serious health risks and epidemics.
“I am not happy with the attitude of some residents and some landlords emptying their refuse and faecal waste into drainage channels and canals. This could lead to an epidemic,” he said.
The chairman disclosed that the local government was already perfecting plans to establish an environmental task force to tackle sanitation violations and other forms of environmental nuisance across the area.
“We are already perfecting plans on the Council’s task force on environment to curb all manner of environmental nuisance,” Lawal said.
He also pledged to work with communities and civil society organisations, including AFED, to promote development across the 16 wards.
Lawal called on stakeholders, particularly Community Development Associations, to partner with his administration in its efforts to improve infrastructure and other essential services in the local government area.
Earlier, the Executive Director of AFED, Dr. Adeshola Afariogun, said the Town Hall Meeting was organised to strengthen citizen participation in governance and create a platform for residents to engage the local government leadership on their development needs.
Afariogun disclosed that AFED had recruited and trained 49 community leaders on environmental justice, civic space and rights, governance and budget engagement, as well as advocacy and communication.
He explained that the training was designed to equip citizens with practical tools for monitoring public services and engaging government institutions.
According to him, the tools include environmental hotspot maps, community scorecards, Freedom of Information request templates, budget-tracking frameworks, advocacy briefs and engagement plans.
While commending the local government chairman for his development initiatives, Afariogun said AFED and its members would continue to engage with the council through what he described as “appreciative engagement.”
“We will continue to apply appreciative engagement and not confrontational engagement in partnering in the process of governance. We commend where they did well and point out where things are needed to be done,” he said.