Follow Us on Google
From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The Nnewi North Local Government Area Transition Committee Chairman, Engr Christian Obiora, has dismissed the impression that the Council has allowed refuse to overtake the town.
The Chairman in an interview, yesterday, said though the state government was in charge of refuse management, that it was the duty of the Council Chairmen to duly supervise refuse disposal in their individual areas.
He explained that his administration in Nnewi North had continued to do its utmost best to see that the exercise was successful.
“You sometimes see a heap of refuse at a dump site on a particular day and because some drivers don’t work on Sundays and Mondays they say it’s sit-at-home then on Tuesdays you see the heap in the morning, but if you return there in the evening, they are evacuated.
“I personally supervise that because like you said, uncleared refuse can cause epidemic to people living around the dumps or beyond. So, we don’t create room for that. We monitor it to the extent that we ask the people doing the evacuation to get more equipment for easy operations.
“We make sure they are on their toes. I spend some hours in my office and go out to supervise them and every other thing that requires my attention in the field. They are working and I pressurise them to put the required equipment into use.
“On our own side, we clear the drainages for easy flow of water to avoid flood disaster especially as the rain sets in. We engage casual labourers because the people who evacuate the refuse feel it adds to their operations, ” he said.
The chairman disclosed that the State government had made efforts to simplify the issue of refuse disposal as containers would soon be distributed to Council Areas for placement at strategic positions to enhance a clean environment.
On whether the street-by-street refuse collection introduced last year by the state government has been abandoned, Engr Obiora said it was still on.
“The street-by-street refuse collection continues. What has punctuated it is that there are more refuse dumps and the evacuators go to the dumps to clear heaps of refuse and sometimes people don’t bring enough refuse to justify the street-by-street collection, ” he explained.
The Chairman said plans were underway to introduce a waste bin method whereby offices and homes would keep their refuse bins for easy collection by the evacuators.
He warned against indiscriminate disposal of refuse in Nnewi, adding that there were taskforce members detailed to checkmate the abuse. He said that anybody caught by the Council’s authorized task force would be fined.
On security in Nnewi North, the Chairman expressed satisfaction with the state government’s security arrangements at the local government levels, saying that it had worked out as they worked with the local vigilance groups.
