By Cynthia Johnson
A 21-day ultimatum has issued by the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to street traders operating on road setbacks along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to vacate the road.
The state Commissioner for the Environment, Ola Oresanya, disclosed this on behalf of the governor at a recent meeting with community leaders.
As gathered by Quest Times, the move was meant to restore environmental sanity to the road and to address the security risks posed by the shanties erected by the street traders, as the state government had repeatedly warned the traders to move to government-approved markets, but they had refused.
“So, my government will not wait and allow a small group of individuals in the name of trading which is outside approved markets put the safety and health of our decent people at risk,” the commissioner quoted the governor.
The shanties were a security risk because they were used as criminal hideouts and open defecation, which could lead to the outbreak of communicable diseases, was being carried out there.
The ultimatum issued on Sunday, October 22, 2023, concerns those operating at Kara, Isheri, and Warewa areas of the road more.
Also, the state government would demolish all the shanties in the affected areas for a proper clean-up and then beautify the road setback to complement the reconstruction of the highway by the Federal Government.
The Olofin of Isheri, Oba Sulaiman Bamgbade reacting, pledged the commitment of the residents to the government’s initiative to rid the axis of criminals and street traders menace.