Local government councils in Nigeria must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring and regulating the establishment of restaurants in unhealthy surroundings, an official has said.

Mr. Augustine Ebisike, Registrar, Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) decried the deplorable state at which restaurants and eateries sprung up at unapproved locations all over the country.

He told newsmen recently  in Abuja that local governments had failed in their duty to conduct environmental impact assessment of structures in their districts.

“Eateries are the responsibility of the local government health office, to inspect the place and give them permit to even open shop.”

“But today if you want to open an eatery, all you need to do is to go and paint somewhere put out your sign board, you start operating.”

“The law says before you do that, you must go to the health department, obtain a form, telling them this is what you want to do, they will send environmental health officer who will come and inspect the place.”

“You know, first if that place is even conducive for you to establish an eatery then all the people who are supposed to be working there, they take them for medical examination, the doctors would find out if such persons are supposed to handle food”.

Ebisike said the lack of monitoring and inspection had unduly exposed people to nfection and diseases because there were no regulations on the people permitted to handle public food.