The Nasarawa State Government has procured 10 new refuse evacuation trucks to enhance waste management and environmental sanitation across the 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
The Commissioner for Environment, Mining and Natural Resources, Princess Margaret Elayo, disclosed this on Saturday in Lafia while addressing journalists after the October sanitation exercise.
Elayo, who was represented by Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Chief Prosecution Officer of the ministry, said the procurement was part of the Gov. Abdullahi Sule administration’s commitment to making the state clean, healthy and environmentally sustainable.
According to her, the trucks had already been deployed by the Nasarawa State Waste Management and Sanitation Authority (NASWAMSA) to urban centres for evacuation of heaps of refuse, especially on sanitation days.
“These 10 trucks are fitted with modern hydraulic compactors that will ensure efficient collection and evacuation of refuse and they were added to the other six trucks we inherited when the state was created in 1996,” the Commissioner added.
On the October sanitation exercise, the Commissioner expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by residents of the state and appealed for more cooperation to guard against outbreaks of diseases.
“If the environment is kept clean, it will guard against a possible outbreak of any disease, thereby ensuring improved healthy living of the people,” she added.
Meanwhile, Abubakar Mohammed, Chief Prosecution Officer of the ministry also said that 97 persons were arrested across the state for violating sanitation laws.
The Chief Prosecutor said the offenders were arrested for transacting their private businesses while the sanitation exercise was in progress.
He said that the defaulters were prosecuted by various mobile courts in their respective areas because their actions violated the provisions of Section 9 (2) of the State Environmental Sanitation Law. (NAN).