The Nasarawa State Government says plans are underway to make the state’s sanitation law more potent through the introduction of stiffer penalties for offenders.
To this end, it said the existing environmental architecture will be redesigned and sanitation law reviewed for utmost performance.
Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Yakubu Kwanta, disclosed this shortly after monitoring the environmental sanitation exercise in Lafia, Saturday.
The State Government in August 2019, reintroduced the monthly environmental sanitation in a bid to keep the State clean.
The existing sanitation law made it compulsory for every citizen and resident of the State to participate in the clean-up exercise which takes place every last Saturday of the month.
Section 9, subsection (2) of the law says, “No person shall be seen on the day and the time for sanitation loitering, playing, hawking, rearing animals, or carrying out any business unless those on essential services.”
It said anyone who breached the law shall be liable on conviction, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding seven days or a fine of N500 or both.
Kwanta said although the level of compliance with the sanitation exercise has been quite high, people still breached the law probably because the penalties are not stiffer enough.
He noted that a review of the architecture will address all loopholes and strengthen compliance.
“We will continue to enforce the sanitation law until total compliance is recorded. We have constituted a committee to identify and map up areas of non-compliance for effective and efficient supervision of environmental sanitation law.
“We will only allow those with permission from relevant authorities and those on essential services to pass, and move around during the exercise,” he explained.
He announced that over 86 defaulters were arrested and prosecuted through mobile courts during the Saturday exercise.