Ministry Conducts Environment Rescue Operation

In an effort to sensitise the public on environmental sanitation consciousness, the Rivers State Ministry of Environment organised a special environmental rescue operations Saturday by cleaning dumps on public utilities.

Permanent Secretary of the ministry who lead the exercise decried the habit of indiscriminate dumping of refuse on public utilities and warned that from henceforth prosecution awaits sanitation offenders.

“This is sabotage” lamented the permanent secretary who pointed out at human wastes refuse dumps, as he walked newsmen across the pedestrian bridge at the St. John’s Bus-stop, Oroworokwo, along Aba Road.

“This bridge is meant to serve as convenience for pedestrians crossing this road but these dumps of wasters hinders government efforts toward making the state attractive to inhabitants and foreign investors,” he said.

Also, an emerging refuse dump growing alongside debris of a demolished building at Rumukalagbo was cleared while the team charged inhabitants of the neighbourhood to be sanitary conscious.

He warned the owner of the demolished building to tidy it up or government would be forced to issue him abatement notice on the building.

At the Rivers State University of Science and Technology roundabout, workers of the sanitation authority were directed to clear garbage, silts and weeds blocking the drainage round the beautification works.

Accompanying the permanent secretary were Director, Environmental Health and Safety of the ministry, Mr Napoleon Ewule who doubles as the chairman of the newly inaugurated Technical Committee on Sanitation, and a representative of the Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority.