Ogun Govt Demolishes Shanties, Other Illegal Structures, At Old Sagamu Tollgate To Sanitize Environment

 

Ogun State Government has commenced the demolition of all shanties and makeshift structures at the Old Sagamu Tollgate along Lagos - Benin Expressway, as part of its continuous efforts at  having greener, cleaner,healthier and safer environment as well as discouraging street trading

Chairman of State  Taskforce on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, Alhaji Farook Akintunde 

during the demolition exercise ,said the state government had given the street traders enough notice to leave the setback, to pave way for the commencement of the landscaping and beautification of the area 

"Aside from their illegal trading on the setbacks along this major road,they continually caused major bottlenecks for commuters as articulated vehicles drivers who wants to patronize them packed on the roads thereby causing unnecessary gridlock"

Akintunde who is also the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor , added that the shanties and makeshift structures were used to harbour criminals who sometimes attacked travelers 

"Their shanties and makeshift structures have also been discovered to harbour criminals who might soon constitutes nuisance to travellers if the shanties are allowed to stand"

"Aside from these,the presence of these shanties and makeshift structures also constitutes environmental eyesore and nuisance to that major corridor of the state used by thousands of travellers to commute to other states of the federation daily thereby making nonsense of the tremendous achievements recorded by the state government in environmental governance in the last five years"

To arrest all these anomalies, Akintunde said the state government has decided to incorporate the setback into its "Green Ogun Programme" and will soon begin its landscaping and beautification which will showcase the beauty of the area to the outside world.

He therefore called on the street traders to move to the nearby existing market as the government is not interested in depriving them of their daily trading activities but will resist any attempt by them to stage a comeback.