From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Women for Sustainability (WfS), an environmental health group, has expressed optimism that toxic soot which has pervaded the region following the activities of crude oil thieves would soon be a thing of the past.
The Convener of the group, Ms Ibieye Batubo, in a statement on Wednesday, attributed the reduction of the toxic substance to ongoing military operations geared towards eliminating the region of economic criminals.
According to Batubo, those residing in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital were happy that the military is gradually finding a solution to the air pollution that affects the health of the people.
She commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Leo Irabor for his commitment towards finding a solution to the economic sabotage and urged troops to shun criminals who want to continue to steal the commonwealth of the people and spread diseases in the region.
She said: “While we commend the Defence Headquarters for playing a major role in the reduction of soot in the region, we say it is still not Uhuru. We want to have an environment devoid of pollution that breeds diseases.
“We, therefore, appeal to the Chief of Defence Staff Gen Leo Irabor and his troops not to give in to the antics of the crude oil thieves, some of who are not ready to give up on crime. For the very first time, we have a CDS that has visited the region on several occasions because of the economic sabotage.”
She appealed to residents of the region to cooperate with troops in solving the problem.
“This problem cannot be solved if our people who have been exposed to all kinds of environmental hazards fail to cooperate with the military to bring an end to the crisis,” Batubo added.