The Oyo State Government has assured residents and citizens of the state that necessary machinery has been put in place to ensure that there is no flooding in the state this rainy season.
The government also assured the people of its commitment to preventing natural disasters in the state in South-west Nigeria.
Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Isaac Ishola, stated this while receiving members of the National Environment Standard and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in his office.
Mr Ishola, who said the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA) has listed the state among others that will experience heavy downpour in 2017, promised that government will continue to ensure a clean and safe environment.
“The State Government has embarked on sensitisation programmes, and dredging of rivers and streams have started in preparation for the heavy rains. Our administration is responsive and we attach seriousness to the business of governance.
“We also have respect for the sanctity of human lives and this is why we have put necessary machinery in motion to prepare for the heavy rains,” he explained.
The Commissioner noted that the efforts of NESREA in the environmental sustainability cannot be overemphasised, adding that the present administration in the state is working earnestly to ensure a sustainable and clean environment attractive to the investors.
He stated that two Mobile Environmental Tribunal Courts, already approved by the government, sit on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, as well as the State Waste Management Authority to prosecute sanitation offenders.
Ishola, however, said prosecuting offenders is not to place hardship nor to increase revenue, but to ensure compliance with the State Environmental Sanitation and Waste Management Regulations.
In his remarks, the Oyo State Coordinator of NESREA, Mr Obagiri Durotimi, said his visit to the Ministry was to introduce himself officially and to synergise with the Ministry to ensure environmental sustainability.
He noted that environmental issue is a collective responsibility for every individual.
