Dr Mrs Minie Oseji, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Asaba, has reiterated Governor Sheriff Oborivwori’s resolve to ensure that Delta State remains the cleanest state in the country.

Mrs Oseji made this statement in Warri on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise she and her team monitored.

She said they were in Warri to monitor and enforced compliance of this month’s monthly environmental sanitation, adding that they are also there to sensitize the people on the need to keep their environment clean at all times.

Mrs Oseji who went around some of the markets in Warri commended the efforts of the Warri South Local Government Area, but lamented the attitude of market traders who dump their refuses into the drainage thereby frustrating the efforts of the contractors handling the storm drainage system in Warri.

She warned Warri residents that next month’s environmental sanitisation they are going to embark on full enforcement as there are going to be mobile courts that will try offenders.

“The Governor has said that he wants Delta State to be clean and Warri must be part of that vision.

“We have a lot of behavioral problems wherein particularly, around the markets, where they dump waste indiscriminately and some of these waste get themselves back in the drains, and they block the drains and no matter the efforts to clear the drains they are still blocked.

“We are aware that the private participants are not enough to cover the whole council and I understand the council has provided trucks to evacuate bagged waste from some areas and we commend them for that effort.

“Next month at we are going to intensify this and there will be mobile courts to arrest offenders. So today is more of sensitization but we are going to continue to do this until Warri and Warri South Local Government Area is clean,” Mrs Oseji said.

Mr Joseph Oribioye, Secretary to the Warri South Local Government, told journalists that the council Chairman, Dr Michael Tidi, is keen on ensuring that the council remains one of the cleanest in the state.

He said all hands have been on deck to ensure that there is total compliance and sensitization on the importance of keeping the environment clean.

“The Warri South Council Chairman does not like dirt and it’s his intension and wish that Warri South remains the cleanest local government in Delta state. And he is going to do it by the grace of God and with the cooperation of the people.

“We need maximum support from the people and our people need to change their attitude towards environmental sanitation in their area.

“There is going to be a bye law very soon that will mandate all transporters to have waste bins in their cars and busses. If you do not have a trash basket in your vehicle, you are going to be arrested.

“We should learn not to dump waste on the drainage. We should not wait until it is sanitation day before we clean our environment. It should be our culture because cleanlinnes as they say, is next to godliness,” Oribioye said.