The Ogun House of Assembly has appealed to Gov. Dapo Abiodun to appoint a substantive Commissioner for the Ministry of Environment.
Mr Olakunle Oluomo (Ifo-1), Speaker of the Assembly, made the appeal while responding to a submission of Wahab Haruna (Yewa North 11).
Haruna had brought up the need to fill the vacuum created by the absence of a political head for the Ministry.
Recall that the state government had on Jan. 3, suspended the Commissioner for Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, pending the conclusion of an independent investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment of a 16-year old girl.
The suspended commissioner was directed to hand over to the Permanent Skecretary in the Ministry.
Responding to Haruna’s submission, Oluomo, who considered the promotion of safe and healthy environment, said there was need for the appointment of a new state commissioner to take charge of the ministry.
He said such appointment would allow for a more robust coordination and administration of the ministry towards harnessing all strategies in tackling environmental hazards, including flash flood alert.
The speaker called for improved efforts and synergy among related agencies handling environmental issues, to reduce the adverse effects of perennial flooding in some parts of the state.
Oluomo equally admonished residents of the state to adopt an attitudinal change by not dumping refuse in drainage channels or erecting structures on waterways.
Earlier, Haruna stated that the ministry, which had been without a commissioner for about six months, required a substantive commissioner to achieve optimum performance.
Haruna said that the vacuum had been affecting some of the programmes and output of the ministry. (NAN)
