By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
Kaduna witnessed renewed civic enthusiasm as residents, government officials, and community leaders joined forces to clean and restore public spaces during the state’s reinstated sanitation exercise.
The initiative marks the official revival of a long-abandoned environmental policy aimed at improving public hygiene and reducing health risks associated with poor waste management.
Across metropolitan communities, participants cleared drains, removed refuse, and tidied major streets in a coordinated effort to curb indiscriminate waste disposal.
The exercise forms part of the state government’s broader environmental safety strategy.
Commissioner for Environment, Abubakar Buba, and the General Manager of the Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority (KEPA),
Suleiman Ibrahim, underscored the government’s renewed commitment to ensuring compliance.
“We are not only reintroducing the sanitation exercise, we are enforcing it. Residents are expected to stay home from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. to clean their surroundings,” Buba stated.
Ibrahim added that mobile courts have been activated to prosecute individuals who fail to comply. “We know some people may disregard the directive, which is why mobile courts are in place to enforce the law,” he said.
Kaduna’s environmental efforts have already earned national recognition: the state was awarded the cleanest in the North-West in December 2024 and the most environmentally friendly state in Nigeria in January 2025.
The impressive turnout for the renewed exercise signals what officials hope will become a consistent culture of cleanliness—promoting public health, boosting the state’s aesthetics, and strengthening community participation.
