Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has issued an order to all illegal cow sellers and street traders located on road setbacks along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to quit the area within the next 21 days.
The order applies to road setbacks that are next to the highway.
The Kara, Isheri Warewa axis of the expressway is where the illegal traders are conducting their business.
According to Abiodun, if the traders do not quit after the 21-day ultimatum, all of their shanties would be dismantled so that the axis may be properly cleaned up.
The governor has stated that the shantytowns that were built by the merchants are an environmental nuisance and a threat to the safety of the general public.
“Who rob innocent citizens of their valuables in broad daylight,” he continued, “the shanties serve as hideouts for criminals who prey on street urchins and drug peddlers.”
Abiodun revealed that the clean-up is part of preparation for the beauty of the setbacks, which would be done to compliment the reconstruction of the highway that is being done by the Federal Government.
During a meeting with community leaders held at the palace of the Olofin of Isheri, Oba Sulaiman Adekunle Bamgbade in Isheri, Abiodun issued the command, which was communicated to them in a message that was delivered on his behalf by the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya.
After a number of warnings, abatement notices, and other entreaties for them to shift to government sanctioned markets were unsuccessful, the governor issued a statement on Sunday saying that the decision to evict the street sellers and demolish all of their shanties was made to restore environmental sanity.
The statement said that the governor said the decision to dislodge the street traders and demolish all of their shanties was made to restore environmental sanity.
According to the news release that was issued by the news Officer of the Ministry of Environment, Rotimi Odunniyi, Abiodun voiced his worries on the continued stay of animal vendors and other traders in the “filthy shanties” that he alleged they have converted into their houses.
The governor pointed out that the merchants now defecate in public while conducting business at the illicit market. He went on to say that this disturbing trend has the potential to spread communicable diseases like cholera to the neighboring towns.
“So, my government will not wait and allow a small group of individuals in the name of trading outside approved markets put the safety and health of our decent people at risk,” Abiodun emphasized. “So, my government will not wait and allow a small group of individuals to trade outside approved markets.”
In his response, Oba Bamgbola said that the community’s members would support the government’s efforts to rid the axis of the danger posed by street vendors.
The king agreed that the shanties are not only causing problems for the environment, but they are also being used by criminals to assault law-abiding residents and other members of the public who are unaware of the danger.
According to the InfoStride News, the Kara market, which is located along the Lagos-Ibadan highway, is well known for the sale of a variety of animals, including cows, rams, and other livestock.
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