Tag Archives: Sanitation

Cancellation of monthly sanitation in Lagos to boost productivity – Traders

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Traders at Mile 12 produce market in Lagos on Thursday lauded the cancellation of monthly environmental sanitation exercise by the state government, saying it would boost economic activities.

 

Femi Odusanya, spokesperson, Mile 12 Traders Association, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.

 

The Lagos State Government announced the cancellation on Wednesday, saying “it was no longer appropriate to restrict movement of people for three hours in a mega city like Lagos’’.

 

Odusanya said: “The government’s decision was quite thoughtful. It has become unnecessary restraining people’s movement for three hours in this economic recession.

 

“Most people bringing goods from the North wait at the expressways till sanitation ends but now our goods will get to the market early with reduced waste.

“With this new development, traders will have more time to promote their businesses and contribute to the economic growth of the country.”

 

He, however, noted that the cancellation placed huge responsibility on the traders to intensify and maintain a clean and healthy environment while pursuing economic gain.

 

He said: “We have to increase our efforts in cleaning and waste disposal at the Thursday weekly market sanitation to ensure that our market is hygienic and safe for trading activities.”

 

Similarly, Eke Ubiji, Executive Secretary, National Association of Small and Medium Enterprise noted that the decision would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

 

Ubiji said: “Environmental sanitation is an integral part of societal governance; citizens should observe it without compulsion and restriction that will hinder economic activities.”

Lagos monthly environmental sanitation is illegal – Appeal Court

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The Appeal Court in Lagos has nullified the monthly environmental sanitation in Lagos State, saying it is illegal and ordered the Lagos State Government not to restrict people’s movement on that day.

The court which delivered its judgment at the weekend banned the state government from further restricting anyone’s movement within Lagos State at any time or day whatsoever on the basis of environmental sanitation as there is no written law to that effect.

Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division held that in the absence of a written law prescribing the same, the governor’s directive for people in Lagos State to stay at home and not to move about thereby restricting movement of persons in Lagos State within the hours of 7.00am to 10.00am on the last Saturday of every month was unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

The suit was brought before the court by a citizen, Faith Okafor (Appellant) against the Lagos State Government (Respondent).

The court restrained the Lagos State Government and its affiliates from further arresting the anyone whatsoever on the basis of a purported environmental sanitation offence or trying anyone in the Special Offences Court without conforming to the dictates of the Constitution.

According to Justice Ogakwu, after due consideration of this appeal and the issues raised therein, “I have arrived at the inexorable conclusion that the appeal is meritorious. The same succeeds and is allowed by me. The Ruling of the lower court in Suit No. M/548/2013: FAITH OKAFOR vs. LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT & ANOR. delivered on 1st July 2014 is hereby set aside.

“In its stead and for good order sake, judgment is hereby entered for the Appellant against the Respondents in the following terms: It is hereby declared that the arrest and detention and transportation of the Appellant in the back of a vehicle which is of a metal cage with very little ventilation and light “Black Maria” by officials and/or agents of the 1st Respondent (KAI Brigade) on 25th May 2013 for a purported environmental sanitation offence violates the Appellant’s fundamental rights to respect for the dignity of her person, personal liberty and freedom of movement as provided under Sections 34, 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and is therefore illegal and unconstitutional.”

Justice Ogakwu declared that the purported trial and conviction of the Appellant for a purported environmental sanitation offence violates the Appellant’s fundamental rights to fair hearing as provided under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and is therefore unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

The court further declared that in the absence of a written law prescribing the same, the 1st Respondent’s directive for people in Lagos State to stay at home and not to move about thereby restricting movement of persons in Lagos State within the hours of 7.00am to 10.00am on the last Saturday of every month is unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

“The Respondents are hereby restrained from further restricting the Appellant’s or anyone’s movement within Lagos State at any time or day whatsoever on the basis of environmental sanitation without there being a written law prescribing the same.

“The Respondents are restrained from further arresting the Appellant or anyone whatsoever on the basis of a purported environmental sanitation offence or trying anyone in the Special Offences Court without conforming to the dictates of the Constitution. The Appellant is entitled to the costs of this appeal which I assess and fix at N100, 000.00,” he ruled.

No More Environmental Sanitations in Lagos State

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Lagos Appeal Court has nullified the monthly environmental sanitation in Lagos State, stating that it is illegal and ordered the Lagos State Government not to restrict people’s movement on such days.

The court judgment over the weekend banned the state government from restricting anyone’s movement within Lagos State at any time or day whatsoever on the basis of environmental sanitation as there is no written law to that effect.

Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, held that in the absence of a written law prescribing the same, the governor’s directive for people in Lagos State to stay at home and not to move about thereby restricting movement of persons in Lagos State within the hours of 7.00am to 10.00am on the last Saturday of every month was unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

The suit was brought before the court by a citizen, Faith Okafor (Appellant) against the Lagos State Government (Respondent). The court restrained the Lagos State Government and its affiliates from further arresting anyone whatsoever on the basis of a purported environmental sanitation offense or trying anyone in the Special Offences Court without conforming to the dictates of the Constitution.

Panel Uncovers 991 Sanitation Ghost Workers

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A total number of 991 ghost sanitation workers have been uncovered by a committee set up by Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, to screen 2,620 sanitation workers in the state.

The committee also discovered that some former commissioners and serving directors were involved in fraudulent inflation of the number of sanitation workers to feed fat on their stipend.

Reports gathered that suspicion of public funds being siphoned by some officials in the state prompted government to commence verification exercise in order to ascertain the exact number of the sanitation staff.

The committee, headed by the state commissioner for Water Resources, Usman Riruwai, also discovered dead staff and children on the sanitation workers’ payroll.

A credible source in the committee said apart from 991 ghost workers, 402 existing street cleaners never reported to work for over year.

The source, who preferred anonymity, said the screening exercise would save the state government “at least N12 million”, noting that those who accused government of sacking workers would now see the rationale behind the decision.

Read More: premiumtimesng

POOR SANITATION COSTS NIGERIA N455 BILLION/YEAR – THE WORLD BANK

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News Release
2012/XXX/AFR

Poor Sanitation Costs Nigeria NGN455 Billion Each Year

LAGOS, April 17, 2012 – Nigeria’s economy loses 455 billion Nigerian naira (US$3 billion, 1.3 percent of GDP) each year due to poor sanitation, according to a report today released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP).

The desk study, Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa – Nigeria, found that the majority (83.3 percent) of these costs come from the annual premature death of 121,800 Nigerians from diarrheal disease, including 87,100 children under the age of 5, nearly 90 percent of which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Access time and productivity losses accounted for 8.5 percent of the total economic costs, while health-related costs accounted for about 6.4 percent.

“We’ve known for some time about the impact of poor sanitation on health, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the annual costs incurred because of poor sanitation,” said Yolande Coombes, senior water and sanitation specialist with WSP. “Nigeria will not be able to grow sustainably without addressing these costs.”

The study also found that 70 million Nigerians use unsanitary or shared latrines, 32 million have no latrine at all and defecate in the open, and that the poorest quintile is 10 times more likely to practice open defection than the richest

Contacts:
In Washington: Christopher Walsh, (202) 473-4594, cwalsh@worldbank.org
In Nairobi: Toni Sittoni, tsittoni@worldbank.org
For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit: http://www.wsp.org/wsp/content/africa-economic-impacts-sanitation

DOWNLAD REPORT HERE ESI-Nigeria press release – English