The Kwara State government has shut down Mandate Market in Ilorin for breaking environmental rules.
The market, which is located in Kwara state‘s Ilorin West local government area, was closed on Thursday.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Mallam Shehu Ndanusa Usman, ordered the market to be closed after the Ministry in charge of the market issued multiple warnings to market leaders.
According to Yakub Aliagan, Press Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, “we decided to close the market after several meetings with market leaders and us, the Ministry in charge, on the need to strictly adhere to environmental law fell on deaf ears.”
“We have reminded them severally of the need to clean their environment and evacuate the refuse, which may cause an outbreak of epidemics in the state, but to our dismay, there is no compliance, and this warranted our actions today” .
The commissioner stated that the measure is a sufficient warning to all other markets around the state to refrain from breaking environmental rules, or else the ministry will be forced to close down erring marketplaces.
He did, however, underline the current administration’s commitment to maintaining a clean and sanitary environment to guarantee the health of Kwara citizens.
Following the participation of various stakeholders in the state, the market was reopened after several hours of closure, with a pledge to comply with environmental rules, according to the statement.
