By Ita Williams
The Cross River State Government has strengthened its environmental enforcement campaign by demolishing stalls constructed on drainage channels at Marian Market, and other areas in Calabar Metropolis, and warned that non-compliant markets across the state would face closure.
The exercise, conducted during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, was led by the Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Moses John Osogi, who attributed the action to persistent violations despite repeated government warnings.
Osogi explained that traders had been advised since last year to remove illegal structures obstructing drainage systems and maintain acceptable sanitation standards but failed to comply.
He said, “We came for routine sanitation and what we saw compelled us to do a post-sanitation exercise here.”
According to the Commissioner, “The market has become an eyesore. They are selling on top of waste and pouring waste into the gutter. That is what is causing the floods, yet when it rains, it is government that they will blame.”
The commissioner consequently directed the immediate closure of the market for a comprehensive cleanup, insisting that commercial activities would only resume after sanitation requirements had been met.
He warned, “If they don’t clean their market space, nobody is selling in Marian Market. I will replicate the same in other markets, even on ordinary days. If your market is not tidy, you won’t sell.”
Osogi further observed that traders had no reason to occupy roadways or drainage corridors because “there are empty shops inside the market,” urging them to relocate to designated trading spaces.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Hon. Patrick Egbede, described the sanitary condition of the market as unacceptable.
He cautioned, “What I have seen here can cause disease. You don’t buy what you want to eat and it turns in your belly. This is about your health, not government.”
The Environment Commissioner reiterated that state sanitation laws require markets to remain closed between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. during monthly sanitation exercises and announced that unscheduled inspections would now be carried out state-wide.
More than 30 sanitation offenders arrested during the operation were subsequently taken before a mobile court for prosecution as part of the government’s broader strategy to improve environmental hygiene, public health and flood control.
