By Amos Aar
COMMERCIAL motorcyclists, popularly known as okada riders, petty traders and other small-scale business owners have cried out over what they described as high fines imposed on them as well as seizure of their wares by the Benue State Environmental Sanitation Authority (BENSESA) for violation of the monthly sanitation exercise last Saturday
BENSESA officials impounded twenty-four motorcycles and seized many petty traders’ wares including bunches of plantain, soft drinks, plastic chairs, pepper, umbrellas amongst others from those alleged to have violated the sanitation law during the monthly exercise.
BENSESA had last Friday evening announced that October sanitation would be carried out on Saturday between 7am and 9am as had been done every last Saturday of the month.
It cautioned residents that movement would be restricted to enable them clean their surroundings during the exercise.
Alleged violators of the rule who came to BENSESA headquarters for prosecution and to bail their confiscated items complained that the N7,000 fine imposed on items said the amount was too high.
Some of the alleged violators said that they did not open their businesses for transaction, claiming that they only kept perishable goods in the open to avoid depreciation while others claimed that they only arranged their seats to start transaction after sanitation.
“I only kept my chairs outside to open my market after sanitation hours and I wasn’t there when they went and packed the chairs. Now, they are charging me to pay N7,000 here. Where can I get that kind of money?”, one of the offenders who preferred anonymity told our correspondent at BENSESA headquarters.
Our correspondent, who was on ground to monitor the exercise, including the prosecution of the offenders observed that many of them, after much pleading, eventually paid N5,000 fine before they bailed their belongings.
Meanwhile, theGeneral Manager of BENSESA, Jennifer Nashima, while fielding questions from journalists stated that the authority under her watch would be intensified with stiffer sanctions against offenders.
“The compliance level is low but we are not discouraged because our services are continuous. We will continuously keep enforcing environmental sanitation laws of Benue Benue State Environmental Sanitation Authority and we are looking at high level of compliance in Benue State, not just in Makurdi as a state capital but across all 23 local government areas of the state.
“Awareness creation is one thing, enforcement is another and then, prosecution. As you can see right in front of me, we have made arrest of the monthly sanitation violators and we are going to prosecute them after now to serve as deterrence to others to comply.
“You see, the aim of the monthly sanitation is not just about making arrest, it is about ensuring that people do their overall cleaning. It’s to get people engaged in cleaning, sweep your houses, properly containerise your waste, fumigate your house and ensure that your house is clean.
“Like I always say, it’s a day of sober reflection when you look at activities you have done throughout the month and also talk to yourself, take out that time for deep cleaning in a month. You deep clean all these hooked corners that your broom had not touched. You go there and do an overall cleaning.
“Then, when it is like BENSESA has to enforce you to do the basic minimum, you should know that there is a behavioural problem and we are going to be enforcing. Now, our enforcement is going to be in top gear to make sure that people adhere,” the acting DG told journalists shortly after she led her team to monitor last Saturday’s sanitation exercise.
