Osun declares Thursdays environmental sanitation days, orders two-hour exercise
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
The Osun State Government has declared every Thursday as Environmental Sanitation Day, directing residents and business operators to participate in a compulsory two-hour cleaning exercise between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
The directive, which takes immediate effect, was announced in a statement issued by the State Head of Service and chairman of the newly constituted Environmental Sanitation Task Force, Ayanleye Samuel Aina.
Under the new arrangement, market operators, shop owners, artisans, mall operators, office workers and owners of other business premises are required to be physically present to clean their surroundings during the designated hours.
The statement said the government had directed that Thursdays be set aside for the cleaning of markets, shops, malls, offices and other business premises across the state. It added that the exercise was intended to promote a cleaner environment and ensure that business operators took responsibility for the sanitation of their premises.
The government said the initiative was part of efforts to curb indiscriminate refuse disposal at unauthorised locations and strengthen compliance with environmental regulations across Osun State.
It stressed that the participation of business operators and other relevant stakeholders was essential to achieving the objectives of the exercise, urging those affected by the directive to comply with the designated sanitation hours.
Meanwhile, the government clarified that the presence of law enforcement agents during the exercise was intended to support and complement the cleaning efforts of market operators, shop owners and other participants, rather than to arrest anyone.
The state government said the directive took immediate effect, requiring the affected operators to observe the weekly exercise from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. every Thursday as part of efforts to improve environmental cleanliness across the state.
