Environment
FCT Cautions Landlords Over Unhealthy Environmenta
The Gwagwalada Area Council in the FCT has warned landlords in the area to provide toilets in their houses or be ready to face prosecution ..
Alhaji Usman Yahaya, the Secretary of the council issued the warning in an interview with correspondent Gwagwalada last Thursday.
Yahaya said the warning became necessary as it had been observed that many people get infected with gastroenteritis at the inception of every rainy season due to the consumption of water.
The Tide learnt that some landlords in the council recently appeared before a Gwagwalada Magistrate Court over failure to comply with sanitation laws.
Yahaya said that the court summons were served on the landlords for failure to provide toilets for their households and deliberate blockage of drains.
He said that the summons served on the landlords and their consequent appearance before the court was a demonstration of the council’s commitment to issues bordering on sanitation.
“If you go round, you will discover that most of our drains have been blocked and 80 per cent of houses within this area are without toilets.
“We have been trying to educate the people on the need to maintain a healthy environment so as to avoid the outbreak of diseases.
“Since they are not ready to comply, the next option for us is to commence enforcement of sanitation laws and that is why so many of them are being served with court summons. “
Meanwhile the FCT has also condemned the spreading of clothes on balcony railings along highways, bridges, railings on landscaped sites, walkways and other public spaces in the capital territory.
“It noted that many public buildings, offices, bridges and residential buildings along major highways in the FCT as well as some private and government buildings, have been turned into drycleaner lines for spreading washed clothes along many highways and inner streets”, it said.
A statement from the area council also observed that, the fact was most noticeable in areas where there were concentrations of mechanic workshops as well as drainage alignments.
It advised the people of the Gwagwalada Area Council to spread their washed clothes within the confines of their homes.
The statement advised landlords who engaged private corporate security guards, who have also been found to be involved in the act, to henceforth desist from such.
It urged such landlords to enlighten and educate their tenants and their employees on the implications of this unaccepted act, stressing that the government would not hesitate to apply the full sanction of the state’s sanitation laws on such culprits.
“This Villages Culture’ does not only deface our environment, but also destroys the aesthetics and the green culture being promoted by government across the FCT.
“This retrogressive culture is archaic and should never be tolerated in any part of the FCT as the massive regeneration and ongoing transformation is to make Abuja model mega-city.
“The general public is hereby notified and warned that perpetrators of this uncivilised act will not only forfeit such clothes to the Motherless babies homes and Orphanages, but may also be prosecuted, in accordance’s with the state’s Sanitation Laws,” it added.
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
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