Uduaghan Indicts Council Chairmen Over Sanitation

Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta has indicted local government chairmen in the state for abandoning some of their statutory functions.

Specifically, he chided the councils’ chief executives for neglecting their duties of waste management and reminded them that such function fell under their purview.

Uduaghan made the remarks at the weekend  in Asaba, while inaugurating 13 sanitation equipment purchased by the state government for its waste management board.

He said that it was a thing of regret that the local councils abandoned their sanitation duties for the state government.

The governor said, “In waste management matters, the state government is only there to assist the councils.”

He, therefore, urged the councils to rise up to their responsibilities and warned that severe sanction awaited erring councils.

Uduaghan also called on the private sector to assist the government in managing waste because “government alone cannot manage waste and there is money in waste management”.

He directed the state’s Ministry of Environment and the Waste Management Board to draw up a guideline for private sector participation in waste management in the state.

The governor said the major challenge facing proper waste management in the state was the lack of dumpsites and appealed to land owners to assist government by providing land for use as dumpsites.

He gave the assurance that no toxic waste would be dumped on any land, adding that the waste would be properly managed to prevent any form of environmental pollution.

He flayed the board for poor disposal of waste in the state, particularly at its dumpsites along the Asaba-Benin highway in Asaba and at the army barracks, Warri, which he described as eye sore.

Uduaghan charged the board to ensure that the dumpsites were properly managed, adding that residents should also desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.

“We would soon start prosecuting offenders, who dump refuse indiscriminately,” he said. 

Earlier,  the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Bello Orubebe  said that the procurement of the equipment was imperative as using them would ensure sustainable waste management in the state.

Orubebe said that presently, solid waste generated in the state was being managed by the government and few individuals from the private sector.

He also said that the task of managing waste was herculean and required the active participation of all stakeholders, stressing that improved sanitation was critical to socio-economic development. 

The commissioner said that the blockage of drainage through indiscriminate dumping of refuse was largely responsible for heavy flooding incidents being experienced in parts of the state.