Lokoja — In its efforts to ensure clean and healthy environment, the Kogi state government has commissioned 700 iron waste bins in the state.

Commissioning the waste bins, Governor Idris Wada warned the people against turning the River Niger and its banks into toilet as the city's cleanliness would no longer be compromised.

The governor who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, called on the people to have a renewed attitude and accept the new government's initiative of persuasion saying that government would no longer tolerate indiscriminate dumping of waste on road side.

He advised the people to imbibe the policy of using dump sites and waste bins designated by government as to change the perception that makes the state capital dirty.

According to him, a clean environment breeds a healthy society and the task of keeping the capital city clean can only be achieved through collective efforts, adding that failure to adhere to the use of the waste bins would henceforth be met with severe sanctions.

He appealed to the residents to on a daily basis consciously work towards the cleanliness of their surroundings.

Earlier, Mrs. Florence Joseph, Acting Secretary, Kogi State Sanitation and Waste Management Board said the 700 dust bins would aid refuse collection and encourage households to cultivate the habits of collecting and disposing their waste as against the idea of dumping it on road divide.