The Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) has shut down Ijebu-Mushin market in Ijebu East Local Council after traders failed to maintain a clean environment.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on OGWAMA, Farook Akintunde, disclosed yesterday that the agency closed the market following traders’ continued dumping of refuse within the market and its surroundings.

Akintunde said the decision followed several warnings to traders who refused to patronise the PSP operators assigned for proper waste evacuation, opting instead to dispose of refuse indiscriminately.

He stated: “Despite this, OGWAMA decided to clean the market through mechanical evacuation of their heaps of waste and thereafter provided a Roll On Roll Off Bin for them to deposit their waste for easy evacuation, but they refused to make use of the bin and decided to still dump their waste indiscriminately in the market.”

He added that the state government, through OGWAMA, would not stand by and watch a few traders jeopardise the health and well-being of a flourishing town by operating in an unsanitary environment.

Akintunde described indiscriminate dumping of refuse as unacceptable, noting that it would attract flies that could contaminate wares meant for public consumption, thereby spreading avoidable diseases.

He urged traders and their leaders to clean the entire market and adopt proper waste disposal practices by using the provided bins instead of dumping refuse around the premises.

“Until these are done, the market will remain shut in the overriding public interest,” he added.