Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, has said that severe sanction awaits all environmental offenders in the three local government areas of Uvwie, Udu and Warri South of the state.

Utuama, who is the chairman of the 21-member ad-hoc committee set up by the state government to clear the council areas of filth, stated this at Enerhen Junction while on an inspection tour of the on-going exercise in Uvwie council area at the weekend.

The deputy governor, who alighted from his convoy and personally accosted a trader who had displayed her wares on the road at Enerhen Junction, wondered why the trader would choose to convert such a spot to her shop. While asking her to remove her wares, Utuama told other traders who had also displayed their wares in unauthorised portions of the road that offenders would henceforth be punished severely.

“This place is not a market store, and it is not built by government to be a market place. This place is built to make commuting a pleasurable experience. Now you have turned it to a shop. That is illegal. Remove them and never try to do it again. Anybody who abuses our environment by converting any space to what it is not meant for will face the wrath of the law,” the deputy governor said.

Earlier, Utuama had led some of the committee members to visit the Olu of Warri, HRM Ogiame Atuwase 11, where he revealed that the state has put in place measure to recruit 1,000 environmental marshals to enforce compliance with the vision of the state government to maintain a clean environment in the three council areas.

“Part of our visit, your Royal Majesty is to inform you that we have in the last 10 days embarked on aggrieve environmental clean-up of the state, starting with these three council areas. Besides, we are going to recruit 750 men and women traffic wardens to enforce traffic laws and ensure traffic sanity in these areas. All illegal structures will have to give way and all forms of street trading will no longer be allowed,” he said.

The exercise is billed to last for two weeks.

•Photo shows Prof. Utuama leading the environmental committee members in an inspection tour of Warri . . . over the weekend.