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Stop displaying wares on walkways, Lagos warns traders

By Salami Azeez

June 13, 2022

Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps LAGESC, popularly known as KAI has warned traders to desist from trading or displaying their wares on walkways, under bridges and other unauthorised places in the state saying the aftermath disturbs free flow of human and vehicular movements across the state.

This is just as the agency dismantled illegal structures at CMS Underbridge on Sunday.

The Corps Marshal of the Agency, CP Gbemisola Akinpelu (retd), disclosed this at the Command Headquarters, Bolade-Oshodi on Monday.

According to her, the agency had received petitions about the activities of street traders, miscreants around the CMS axis right under Eko bridge and moved into action after an on-the-spot assessment during the week.

She said trading in unauthorised places can affect the integrity of the Eko bridge overhead.

The Corps Marshal stated that the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed that the refrigerators, cold rooms mounted with illegal connections right under the bridge be dismantled to avoid a repeat of the Apongbon bridge incident.

Similarlly, the wooden counters used by traders to trade right under the bridges were crushed and carted away by the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

She said unauthorised places include under bridges, pedestrian bridges, walkways, setbacks, sidewalks, road verges, medians, sued for voluntary compliance among the traders and admonished them to desist from displaying their wares in such places.

She also directed that the cleared area be sustained by operatives of the Agency stationed at the CMS axis and warned that any trader caught returning to that axis for trading will be dealt with in accordance the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017.

Conclusively, the Corps Marshal admonished pedestrians to be safety-conscious by using pedestrian bridges and also advocated for every private, public property in the State be in possession of a valid waste collection contract for proper waste disposal to foster cleanliness in the State.