Oyebanji said that the state government had already dredged over 14 kilometres stretch of waterways in different parts of Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
The governor, represented by the Project Coordinator, Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, Dr Akintunde Akinyugha,
who spoke in Ado Ekiti while marking the 2023 ‘World Environment Day, harped on the need to sensitize and mobilize residents towards inculcating the habit of personal hygiene and sanitation of the environment.
He lauded the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution’ as he decried the level at which the environment had become increasingly polluted with plastic bottles and other contaminants, adding that the wastes were harmful to human health.
The governor said, “As a responsive and environmentally friendly government, we cannot continue to ignore the problems caused by indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste in our streets and drainages any longer.
“We must take urgent action to reduce, recycle and reuse them (plastic) through the Ekiti State Waste Management Authority recycling plastic plants at Ilokun, Ado Ekiti,” he said.
Ekiti State Coordinator, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Mrs. Abosede Tomori, urged residents “to take a pause and reflect on how badly the environment has been impacted by plastic pollution and immediately proffer appropriate solutions to the menace”.
She encouraged everyone to go back to their various communities to set clean up groups that would evacuate the plastics from drainages, streams and waterways for onward recycling.
