Oluyole LG Revives Weekly Environmental Sanitation, Launches Grassroots Sensitisation Campaign

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The Chairman of Oluyole Local Government, Engr. Akeem Olatunji, has revived the weekly environmental sanitation exercise as part of efforts to promote a cleaner, healthier and safer environment across communities in the council area.

Olatunji also launched a grassroots sensitisation campaign aimed at mobilising residents to actively participate in the sanitation exercise and support community-based security initiatives.

The campaign commenced on Friday at Toll Gate Market, Ibadan, where the council chairman met with traders, community leaders and other stakeholders to emphasise the importance of environmental cleanliness and collective responsibility for public safety.

The sensitisation meeting, attended by market men and women as well as traditional market leaders, ended with several resolutions aimed at improving public health, strengthening security and enhancing environmental sustainability within the community.

The resolutions included a commitment to improve sanitation standards, strengthen the community’s security architecture, establish a joint sanitation and security task force, and reintroduce a weekly environmental sanitation exercise to ensure regular cleaning of public spaces and business premises.

Speaking during the engagement, Olatunji described environmental sanitation as a shared responsibility that requires the active participation of residents rather than government efforts alone.

According to him, the initiative forms part of the local government’s broader strategy to restore environmental discipline, deepen collaboration between government and residents, and address sanitation and security challenges at the grassroots.

He disclosed that the sensitisation campaign would be extended to other communities and markets across Oluyole Local Government to promote a healthier environment, strengthen community policing, and encourage greater citizens’ participation in governance.

“A clean environment should be everyone’s major concern because when the consequences of a dirty environment arise, it affects everyone. Diseases do not affect only those who litter the environment; they spread to the entire community,” Olatunji said.

He urged residents, traders and business owners to maintain hygienic surroundings, dispose of waste properly and participate actively in the revived weekly sanitation exercise.

Expressing confidence in the initiative, the council chairman said he expected to witness significant environmental improvement during his next inspection visit scheduled for Tuesday, July 7.

Beyond sanitation, Olatunji also expressed concern over security, warning hotel operators in the area to be more vigilant in screening guests.

He disclosed that intelligence reports indicated that some criminal elements were allegedly using hotels within the community as temporary hideouts.

The chairman urged hospitality business owners to cooperate with security agencies by promptly reporting suspicious activities capable of threatening public safety.

He also encouraged traders, market women and other residents to volunteer credible information whenever they observe unusual movements or suspicious individuals within their neighbourhoods, stressing that timely intelligence from members of the public remains one of the most effective tools for preventing crime and sustaining peace.

Responding on behalf of the market community, the Babaloja General of Toll Gate, Chief Rasheed Oduola, commended Olatunji for what he described as proactive and visionary leadership, as well as his commitment to the welfare and development of the community.

He praised the council chairman for taking governance to the grassroots through direct engagement with stakeholders instead of waiting for challenges to escalate.

Oduola pledged the full cooperation of traders and market leaders toward the successful implementation of the resolutions reached at the meeting, assuring the council that market stakeholders would comply with the sanitation directives and support the proposed sanitation and security task force when it becomes operational.

Olatunji was accompanied on the inspection and sensitisation visit by a former Chairman of Oluyole Local Government, Hon. Kehinde Abore, and the Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oluyole Local Government, Alhaji Wasiu Arewa.

Also in attendance were the Iyaloja of Toll Gate, Mrs. Grace Idowu; the Iyalaje of Toll Gate, Chief (Mrs.) Bolanle Orimolade; the Babaloja General of Toll Gate, Chief Rasheed Oduola; the Oluomo of Toll Gate, Alhaji Musediq Olapade; as well as scores of traders and other community stakeholders.