Lagos warns residents against violating environmental regulations

The Lagos State government over the weekend warned residents of the state to desist from unhealthy environmental practices that could undermine the government’s efforts to protect the environment from degradation and other impacts of climate change.

The state government added that its various environmental sustainability agencies have been empowered to prosecute any person or organization found degrading the environment in any form.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, made the allegations over the weekend during a ministerial press conference he delivered to mark the first anniversary of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo – Olu’s second term in office.

The commissioner revealed that the state government is devoting huge resources to protecting the environment from all forms of degradation, especially to combat climate change and its accompanying impact on human health and the ecosystem.

He disclosed that the state government would intensify enforcement efforts to ensure compliance with environmental laws to achieve the vision of a sustainable environment.
Wahab disclosed that the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), which acts as the state environmental police, had in the last three months carried out 367 enforcement operations at households, markets, hotels, warehouses, outlets, industrial plants , worship centers and nightclubs and other places for various environmental violations, and in others fines were served for discharging untreated sewage into the lagoon.

He warned that LASEPA has been given greater authority than before to ensure full compliance with the 2017 State Environmental Protection Regulations across the state to safeguard the environment from further degradation due to its consequences on human health and the ecosystem.

The commissioner, who explained that the various law enforcement operations conducted by his ministry and its agencies across the state are in the interest of the public, noted that the state government will not give handouts and allow selfish individuals to continue to undermine reform efforts aimed at preserving environment for better life and sustainable growth.

Wahab, who expressed concern about poor air quality levels in many parts of the state as contained in LASEPA’s weekly reports on the state’s Air Quality Index, warned against environmentally unfriendly behavior that could trigger climate change-related actions