The Chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government, Mr Lanre Oyegbola-Sodipo, has said that his administration will leave no stone unturned to combat the disturbing challenge of open defecation in the Local Government.
Oyegbola-Sodipo said that if nothing drastic is done, the growing challenge of open defecation in the local government will pose a great health risk to the people of the local government.
He explained that recent UNICEF reports highlighted the local governments as one of the council areas in the state grappling with this challenge.
The council boss, who stated this during a media engagement on Monday at the Local Government secretariat, Akomoje, Abeokuta, has, however, said that plans are underway to inaugurate Safety and Environment Marshals who will be empowered to crack down on offenders across the local government.
He disclosed that his administration has also decided to make it compulsory for anyone organising a social party or gathering in the LG to ensure that they have mobile toilets for the use of their guests, as anyone who flouts these rules might be charged to court.
The LG boss explained, “On the very day of the inauguration of this administration, I appointed a Special Assistant in charge of safety and environment, and he is going to be the Coordinator of our soon-to-be-launched Safety and Environment Mrshals.
“The Marshals will arrest anyone that urinates or defecates anywhere illegally. We are on the UNICEF report as one of the places where open defecation is rampant. It is a peculiar issue with our local government, Abeokuta North.
“Right now, we have mobile toilets that will arrive soon. These mobile toilets are symbolic because our Special Assistant in Safety and Environment will monitor those who want to have one party or the other.
“We will instruct them to make sure they provide mobile toilets for the use of their guests. We shall visit the party to later find out if they provide mobile toilets. Once they don’t, we shall stop the party and charge the celebrant, and such a person might end up in a Magistrate Court.
“To prevent all of this, get mobile toilets for your social functions. We are going to involve all the stakeholders. We shall have a meeting with the event planners’ association and warn them of the legal implications of getting involved with a party where mobile toilets are not provided. Before we get the celebrants, it is these event planners that we shall arrest.
“You can always contact the local government to get your mobile toilets, and we also have strategic partners who could always help make them available in case the ones we are procuring are not enough.
“We are returning to the olden days when the sanitary will always go around to check and sanction those without toilet facilities. Already we are constructing public toilets in three communities. We are attacking this challenge from different dimensions”.
Oyegbola-Sodipo also said that his administration had carried out some necessary reforms within the last three months to tackle leakages and improve the revenue accruing to the local government’s coffers.
The Chairman said “What we met on ground in terms of revenue that should be for the local government was an extremely sad situation. The local government was haemorrhaging very seriously.
“One of the first steps we took was to cancel every revenue contract done before our coming on board.
“We set up Revenue Monitoring Team headed by the Vice Chairman, Tajudeen Egbeyemi and we have been able to establish 67 revenue sources as against maybe 10 or 15 that we met on ground.
“We are beginning to see lots of improvement in this area and our plan to digitise our revenue generation drive such that our people can do it electronically will be rolled out on Wednesday”.
However, he has lauded Gov Dapo Abiodun for encouraging good governance at the grassroots, saying that in a few months, people will marvel at the number of projects ongoing across the 20 local governments in the state.
The LG boss pledged to continue on the path of selfless and courageous leadership, always making life more rewarding for the people of the local government through the implementation of policies tailored to address the identified needs of people at the grassroots.
