By Felicia Imohimi
The Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), has tasked environmental health officers on enforcement of the Public Health Law in every local government area (LGA), to curb flooding across the country.
Dr Yakubu Baba, Registrar of the council, gave the charge on Thursday, during a news conference in Abuja, following the alert by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), that no fewer than 178 LGAs were within the high probable flood risk areas.
Baba said enforcement of the law, through the provision of necessary sanctions and fines, would make the people and communities take responsibilities for their action and inactions.
The registrar disclosed the minimum sanctions for violators of the law as payment of N500,000 fine, or six years imprisonment.
He listed some of the environmental health offences as indiscriminate waste disposal, dumping of refuse in drainage, among others.
According to him, the measure will reduce mortality and morbidity, and also prevent collateral damage as a result of flooding in Nigeria.
He attributed flooding and its consequences on citizens across the country to negligence of environmental health services by local and state governments.
He however, listed blockage of the drainage systems as the top contributing factor to flooding in Nigeria.
“This happens because people are taking waste consciously to their backyard.
“`Responsible leaders and local governments, have invested a lot of money to construct the drainage systems, but most of the communities see such facilities as a temporary dump site.
“I call on environmental officers working in local governments communities, to apply necessary sanctions to violators of the law, to serve as the first responsibility we are carrying out as a council.
“In response to the flooding alert, the council has activated its emergency management response system to mitigate the challenge,” Baba said.
The registrar said the essence of the news conference was to let the populace aware that as citizens “they have the responsibility to adapt to the new policy of waste management in the country”.