The Benue State Environmental Sanitation Authority (BENSESA) has identified a shortage of environmental health officers as a major challenge to effective sanitation and food hygiene enforcement across the state.
BENSESA Secretary George Igbalumun disclosed this in an interview with reporters on Saturday in Makurdi.
He said the authority needed more officers to carry out inspections, supervision and other essential public health duties across the state.
A proposal requesting additional personnel, particularly for the Department of Public Health, had been submitted to Gov. Hyacinth Alia and was receiving attention, he said.
According to Igbalumun, most of the department’s current staff were recruited during the last major hiring exercise, about 35 years ago. Many are expected to retire in January 2027.
He said food hygiene was one of BENSESA’s statutory responsibilities, handled mainly by the Department of Public Health through routine inspections to ensure food for public consumption was prepared and handled hygienically.
The authority also periodically trains food handlers, including eatery operators and food vendors, to promote safe food handling. The most recent training was held in August, he said.
People who prepare and serve food are required to hold valid medical fitness certificates, Igbalumun said, adding that routine inspections were conducted to ensure compliance and protect the public from food-related health risks.
He said population growth, urban expansion and increased migration from rural to urban areas had added pressure to the authority’s workforce, making it essential to recruit more environmental health officers.
Igbalumun also expressed concern about improper waste disposal, saying some residents continued to dump refuse on roads, medians, in drains and canals despite the availability of designated collection points and bins.
He said BENSESA had stepped up public awareness and enforcement efforts, but some offenders evaded officers by changing when they dumped waste between daytime and nighttime.
He also lamented the decline of the sanitary inspectorate system, which once supported effective house-to-house inspections. The retirement of many personnel had weakened the system, he said.
Igbalumun said the authority was working to address these challenges. Its General Manager, Chief Anta Igbaato, had been tackling inherited institutional and operational difficulties since taking office, he added.
He said the agency submitted a proposed amendment to its enabling law—which was enacted about 25 years ago—to the Ministry of Justice in September for consideration.
A committee reviewed the existing law and proposed amendments to address emerging environmental challenges. The current legislation does not adequately cover issues such as air and noise pollution and other contemporary environmental hazards, he said.
Updating the law would strengthen the authority’s institutional capacity and provide the legal backing needed for effective enforcement, Igbalumun added.
He said BENSESA was among the few government agencies operating a mobile court to enforce environmental sanitation regulations, particularly because compliance was not always voluntary.
