Ebonyi Provides N40m Waste Disposal Equipment

The Ebonyi government, has provided waste disposal equipment worth N40 million to help in effective waste management in the state.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Paul Okorie, disclosed this on Saturday in Abakaliki, during a special Christmas and New Year sanitation exercise.

“The equipment comprises two garbage trucks and 32 garbage bins, among others, which would be stationed at strategic locations in Abakaliki and other towns in the state for effective waste disposal.

“We have taken delivery of 50 per cent of the equipment while the remaining ones will be delivered before the end of the year,” he said.

Okorie noted that the government would soon fully acquire the land designated as the state’s permanent dump site, saying that the delay was due to bureaucratic factors.

“We have yet to totally pay compensation to owners of the lands which have several economic trees, which are of utmost importance to the owners,’’ he said.

He noted that the sanitation exercise was conducted to keep the state clean ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“We do not want to herald Jesus Christ’s coming with dirt, as most people would be in various locations by month end, which is the normal time for the exercise,’’ he said.

Mr Felix Ota, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Project Monitoring, commended the people of the state for complying with the exercise, in spite of its short notice.

“The compliance level was high, as it shows that the people were imbibing the attitudinal change tenet of the state government on environmental cleanliness,” he said.

More than 100 people were, however, prosecuted by the state sanitation court for committing various offences during the period.

The court presided over by Mr Ben Ukwa, convicted the offenders of acts which included loitering, indulgence in recreational activities and travelling, among others.

They were sentenced to various jail terms ranging from two to six months with option of fines also ranging from N2,000 to N10,000.

Miss Oluchi Onyegbule, one of those convicted, said that she was travelling during the period because she was not aware that the exercise was brought forward to Saturday.