By Dipo Olowookere
A total ban has been place on operations of cart pushers and wheel barrow operators by the Lagos State government.
As a result, the state government has directed security agencies to arrest and prosecute anyone found violating the ban as well as those patronising them.
Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, in a statement on Saturday, explained that the ban was announced because activities of the cart pushers were inimical to the environmental cleanliness in the state.
Mr Bello said with the flag off of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), the continuous activities of cart pushers would pose a threat to the success of the initiative.
He said investigations had also revealed that the cart pushers were responsible for most of the illegal dumping of waste in canals and road medians at night which causes flooding, adding that aside constituting environmental nuisance, they were also traces of security threats.
“What the state government has discovered is that these set of people use the night to perpetrate all sorts of dastardly acts. They dump refuse indiscriminately on the median of major roads and highways.
“They also pose serious security threats because they use those carts to hide arms and ammunitions and hide under the guise of carrying refuse to rob unsuspecting residents,” the statement said.
Mr Bello noted that government has finalised plans to ensure that the CLI would cover every area of the state and ensure that refuse were well packed and collected, urging residents to desist from patronising them or risk prosecution.
“The state government has declared zero tolerance for the activities of cart pushers and wheel barrow operators.
“Security agencies in the state have been directed to ensure that those found still operating are arrested and prosecuted according to the state environmental laws.”
“The law also applies to residents who patronise cart pushers. It is an offence and the state government would not hesitate to enforce the law to put a stop to such practice,” Mr Bello added.
