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- Flags-off sustainable clean green campaign
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has launched the Anambra Drainage Desilting Campaign and Operation towards making Anambra the cleanest state in Nigeria at Ochanja market in Onitsha South Local Government Area of the state.
During the launch, the Governor assured the traders and residents who gathered to witness the event that there is adequate planning to properly re-channel flooding at Ochanja market in Onitsha.
Governor Soludo recalled cleaning up the area last year, but regretted the waste reappeared after the rains. He stated that previous plans under past governments to address flooding issues were ineffective, lamenting the fact that some vendors sell on the streets and willfully dump their waste in the gutters, thereby clogging the drainages.
“We are launching a programme today to create a clean and sustainable Anambra. The rainy season has arrived, and we are here to help with this recurring issue. Ndi Anambra is not known for filth! The air pollution being emitted is hazardous and can cause illness in the body. A trader who inhales polluted odours for up to 8 hours a day stands the risk of being ill,” Governor Soludo said.
The Governor emphasized that Ochanja market, to which the entire world comes to trade, is filthy, and everyone has a part to play in making it clean. He called on traders to remove all plywood covering their gutters to enable massive desilting and stated that shops built across gutters must be demolished. Anyone who fails to comply with the government’s directive will be fined.
Governor Soludo also warned against illegal levies, stating that anyone caught in the act would be arrested and imprisoned. He encouraged traders to plant trees, noting that planting trees would allow them to breathe clean, natural air.
In his remarks, Rev Fr Christian Onuekwusi thanked the Governor on behalf of the people of Onitsha South for launching the campaign, which he described as an outstanding move. He prayed for the Governor’s success in all his endeavors.
Governor Soludo also used the medium to warn all touts to leave Onitsha immediately. He emphasized that touting is not a vocation and that a special task force has been formed to get rid of touts and restore sanity back into the system. Soludo stated that if the people are determined to see touts leave Onitsha for good, they will, and the government will greatly assist them in doing so.
