Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State
ASABA/Nigeria: Delta state Taskforce on Environment has commenced arrest and prosecution of street hawkers and Beggars within the state capital and its environs.
The state Taskforce Chairman on Environment Hon. Sylvester Oromoni made this statement in Asaba shortly after arresting some Beggars, hawkers and mentally deranged persons within the state headquarters.
According to Oromoni, the Taskforce would rid the territory and the state at large of individuals, who use sick persons to beg for money on the streets.
He said that the removal of the destitute from the territory would help promote environmental health as well as protect residents of the territory.
“Wherever corporate beggars – the people using the sick to beg for money are found, our hotlines should be called; we will apprehend them.
“It can no longer be condoned, because one, they are not even treating the people. So it is criminal in nature.
“They are using those people to get money from the unsuspecting public.’’
“We only prosecute the offenders, but the law is not stringent.
“For a law to serve its purpose, such a law should be able to `bark and bite`; when a law “barks’ but cannot `bite’ hard, that law will become ineffective.
The Taskforce also apprehended face mask defaulters withing Asaba metropolis.
Remember the Governor while relaxing the lockdown for economic reasons warned that Deltans should not jeopardize the safety of the their fellow Deltans.
He said that the compulsory use of face mask by all individuals appearing in public has commenced across the state, and that persons seen in public without the mask would be taken straight to the isolation centre, “because it will mean that you have the virus and want to infect others’’.
“Anybody seen in a tricycle, `Okada’ or taxi without face mask will lead to the impounding of the tricyle, okada or taxi, and any business centre that attends to a customer who is not putting on face mask risks being closed permanently.
So in this regard, we will rid the state of Coronavirus and together with government and security agencies, we would ensure that people abide by the precautions of the government and its agencies.
Three tippers was also impounded for dropping refuse in an unapproved dump sites.
Waste-eradicating efforts must be undertaken in partnership with local governments and citizens.
It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain a healthy environment for the good of society. Waste and pollution is the leading threat to our environment in our state but we can all make a difference by becoming more responsible with our litter Oromoni stressed.
