Abuja – Mr Hilary Ogu, of the Owerri Municipal Local Government, said the inspectors had stopped work because of non-payment of salaries.
Ogu said there was hardly any activity in the local governments because there were no local government chairmen and the staff had been neglected.
He said that inspectors who used to operate from the local governments mostly stayed in their offices due to lack of transport facilities.
A roadside food vendor, Mrs Rose Chiatula, said she was occasionally visited by environment/health inspectors.
She, however, said they had not visited since 2013.
Chiatula added that the inspectors were more interested in collecting bribes from her and not inspecting her premises and the quality of the food she sold.
“Usually, when they come, we give them money and free food and they go; they only threaten to seize our property if we don’t pay up.
“We give them so we can continue our business”, she said.
For Onyewuchi Iwunze, who patronises the food vendors, there are no fears over the quality of food sold at the restaurants.
“The food here is hot and fresh and that is what is important”, he said.
Iwunze expressed concern with the environment, saying that there were flies around the premises.
In Awka, some respondents said the environmental health officers and sanitary inspectors had almost gone extinct.
Chidi Adim said patronisers of eateries were at great health risk as they did not get certification of any kind from the environmental health officers.
Adim, a civil servant, said there should be a review of the legal framework for their operations which made them very effective in the past.
“In Anambra, the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra has taken over the job of these health inspectors. Interestingly, they are mainly for revenue drive, they do not have the training on what to do.
“The authorities are not doing enough to protect people who have reason to eat out”, he said.
An Environmental Health Officer in Awka South Local Government, who preferred anonymity, told NAN that they had been inspecting food sellers’ premises in the area to know their level of cleanliness.
“If their surroundings are not clean enough, we issue them abatement notice, which means last warning. And if such persists after another visitation, then we sue the fellow.
“It is the judge that will fine the fellow. Our work also extends to those that sell beverages as well, for we check them for expired food, drinks, and other edibles”, she said.
Mrs Uchenna Onyekacho, proprietor of Maduleme Restaurant at Zik Avenue, Awka, said food inspectors came to inspect her restaurants twice in 2014.
Also, Mrs Victoria Nweke of Goodies Restaurant at Arroma, said inspectors do come to her shop but not often, adding that they always checked the items being used when they visit.
Also in Umuahia, a cross-section of the residents called on the environmental health officers to step up their activities in the inspection of food at the eateries that dot every corner of the city.
Mr Jenarius Ezeru, who admitted that he regularly patronised such bukas and canteens, said the activities of the officers were no longer felt in the area.
Ezeru contended that new joints were springing up in the area uncontrollably and that nobody seemed to be regulating their activities.
Miss Ifeanyi Okoro, a shop attendant, decried the indiscriminate way joints were sited, pointing out that many of them operated in dirty and unhygienic environments.
“In fact, nobody is regulating the operators or the food they served the public’’, Okoro said, adding that people were not aware of the existence of the environmental health officers in Umuahia.
A restaurateur at the Umuahia Railway Station said on condition of anonymity that no environmental health officer had visited her eatery since she started operation in 2014.
She said she had no formal education but pointed out that she was keenly observing all the necessary hygiene requirements in preparing food to meet the standard and ensure safety.
A senior officer in the Department of Environmental Health at the Umuahia North Local Government Area also told NAN on the condition of anonymity that the department inspects joints, bukas, mama puts, among others.
She expressed concern about the proliferation of such outlets in the city, saying that under normal circumstance, the operators were expected to apply for certification by the department before commencing business.
The Chairman of the council’s Transition Committee, Alhaji Suleiman Ukandu, said the department was up and doing in inspection and certification of eateries in the area.
Ukandu, however, disclosed that the operators were not coming to the council for approval and certification before embarking on their business.
In Onitsha, Anambra, the Conference of Civil Service Doctors said the present state of food safety and handling culture was still poor in the state.
The Chairman of the body in the state, Dr Joe Uyamadu, said the practice of moving food on wheel barrows by local food vendors was unacceptable.
Uyamadu held that such practice as well as ineffective monitoring of bukas and road-side food vendors, would be a future health risk.
“I appeal to the government, especially the state Ministry of Health and its local government counterparts, to set and enforce a standard for these people who are in their thousands, especially in Onitsha and its environs.’’
An official of NAFDAC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the agency’s work covered every edible item.
He said NAFDAC does routine inspection of eateries, restaurants, food manufacturing industries and their outlets.
“However, our work stops at these levels since it will be difficult to monitor hundreds of thousands of food vendors in all nooks and crannies of the state’’, he said.
Meanwhile, Onitsha North and Onitsha South Local Governments had employed and trained more than 70 sanitary inspectors to enhance environmental cleanliness and attract investors to the commercial city.
The Chairman of Onitsha North LGA, Mr Douglas Egbuna, said the council’s main focus was to achieve a clean and sustainable environment.
“That is why we are working toward making Anambra state and Onitsha in particular clean because Onitsha is the commercial nerve centre of the South East.
“Onitsha must be clean so that we can attract investors to this town’’, Egbuna said.
In Enugu, an environmental health worker, who did not want his name in print, called for the employment of more professionals for effective monitoring.
The worker said there was a change in the modality for employing environmental health workers, adding that the number of officers in the profession was not adequate.
“There is only one environmental health official in this local government, covering more than 10 communities.
“For about 10 years now, no environmental health worker has been employed by the state government; some are trained but not employed”, he said.
The official said environmental health workers always inspected abattoirs, canteens and restaurants to ensure that they met the required standards of cleanliness.
He said that in urban areas, other agencies were encroaching on the health workers’ duties, thereby making them ineffective before the society.
“If you come to urban areas, the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA), now intrudes into our duties”, he said.
He added that there was need for the services of environmental health officials to be brought back as it was in the 70s and 80s.
“This is for proper environmental and health inspection in all nooks and crannies for the betterment of Nigerian citizens.’’
In Owerri, an official of NAFDAC, who spoke under anonymity, said the agency conducted checks on food and beverage companies to ascertain the quality of their products.
He, however, added that food vendors popularly known as “mama put” were hardly supervised by the agency.
“What we do is routinely go on checks to the markets to ensure that goods sold there are registered and not expired.
“We also go to restaurants to do the same thing but mostly when we receive information that such restaurants are using substandard or expired goods in preparing food.
“The agency investigates and depending on what we find out, we may seal the premises temporarily or until we are satisfied that it will comply with standard practices.”
Mrs Thelma Harry, 45, who operates an eatery on Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt, prepares “special delicacy for select people.’’
“I cook only beans, half ripe plantain, fish, vegetables, prawns. I sell only non-alcohol drinks.
“The majority of my customers are elders, some are diabetic and they do not miss my menu’’, she said.
According to Harry, her special menu attracts food inspectors from Obio/Akpor Local Government and they are satisfied with what they see.
“First, I ensure the environment is very neat and everything I cook is fresh. My customers at times book in advance for reservations’’, she said.
Mr Tonye Lawson-Jack, Health Officer in charge of Obio/Akpor local government of Rivers, said officers inspect food and eateries to ascertain safety of food prepared for customers.
“We have Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical Services, Disease Control, and others.
“We have the Environmental Unit that checks on the environment where food operators prepare the food before public consumption.
“Officers make sure that every registered member has certificate of fitness, all the staff are screened and tested to know the health fitness of the person before cooking for the public.
“The environment must be clean, safe and comfortable to run the business before such operators are registered’’, Lawson-Jack said.
In Bayelsa, Mr Abraham Sigesi, the Environmental Health Officer, Yenagoa Local Government Area, said “Mama Put operators are regularly checked to ensure that they maintained good sanitation standards.
“We place emphasis on good waste management to ensure clean and neat environment for food safety.’’
He also said health officers had been active in the inspection of the canteens and bukas for cleaner environment.
“In Yenagoa, the council has stipulated requirements before allowing someone to operate a restaurant; we have a certain medical and sanitary examination before they start.
“After these examinations, we issue Operational Permit; this permit will enable you to start the business; this permit changes annually.
“For those already in the business, we often inspect their surroundings to maintain good sanitary condition; we subject them to training’’, he said.
Mr Emeka Oguejiofor, who patronises mama put regularly, said food from the local joints and canteens were better than the contemporary eateries.
“Food from bukas are more natural and good for human health; I do not like going to the contemporary canteens because their food have much oil and spices’’, he said.
In Edo, the State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr David West, said inspection and monitoring of eateries were part of the mandates of the agency.
He added that the complimentary efforts of state and local governments’ environmental health officials were needed to effectively monitor some of the eateries.
“Although the agency has been mandated to monitor the storage, preparation and consumption of food, there is need for concerted input from other relevant authorities for effective coverage.
“This is because some of these eateries are not well located and sometimes, one cannot monitor where the food were prepared.
Mr Austin Ayangu, a civil servant, said he buys food from restaurants and bukas because he had to leave his house very early in the morning for work.
“I buy food from bukas but I make sure that the people serving the food are neat and the place is also neat.
“I do not encourage people to buy cooked food from mobile food vendors because when there is food poisoning, these operators cannot be easily located’’, he said.
In Cross River, food vendors, restaurant operators and others have been advised to be conscious of hygiene in the interest of the general public.
Mr Joseph Akim, State Programme Officer, Food/Safety Inspectorate Services, Ministry of Health, gave the advice in Calabar.
“We monitor and inspect to ensure that food vendors, bakery owners, abattoir and all those who are involved in edible products keep their environments clean.
“We also advise them to go for medical check-up regularly because you cannot know those of them who have contagious diseases that can be transferred to their clients’’, he said.
Akim added that they also sensitise hawkers and other roadside vendors on the need to be neat.
He said the inspectorate had offices in the 18 local government areas as well as three zonal offices in Ugep for central, Ogoja for Northern, and Calabar for Southern zones.
Akim advised the public to be careful about what they eat especially products that had expiry dates.
“People should always check expiry dates very well because whatever expired products you eat is toxic to your body’’, he added.
Mr Isaac Kolawale, State Coordinator of NAFDAC, said the agency carries out periodic inspection of restaurants and food vendors.
Mrs Jacinta Odiwe, a restaurant operator in Warri, said the absence of Environmental Health/Food Inspectors had no impact on her business.
Odiwe told NAN that she does not need the services of the food inspectors to provide hygienic food to her customers.
She held that re-introducing food inspection would not make significant impact except people with integrity were employed to do the job.
She advised customers to patronise hygienic restaurants and be cautious of what they eat.
“The problem is that most times, customers do not care about what they eat. Some people cook and sell what they know they cannot eat.
“The satisfaction of my customers is paramount to me and I ensure that my food is well cooked. I also buy meat from a hygienic abattoir”, she said.
Mrs Anita Emu, another canteen operator in 1st Marine Gate, Warri, said she does not need the services of food inspectors to keep her environment clean.
Emu said she had been in the business for over 15 years, adding that no customer had ever complained about her food.
“The food inspectors will only compound issues with the food sellers, they will not do the job they are assigned to do.
“I ensure that my canteen is clean and my helpers are neat. We also treat our customers with respect so as to encourage them to come again”, she said.
Mr Monday Aisekhame, a customer, said there was no need for re-introducing food inspection.
“Right now, people are complaining that the cost of buying food in the restaurant is high. We don’t want the food inspection again because it will make the cost of food go higher”, he said. (NAN)
