Former Lawmaker Seeks By-Law On Refuse Dumping

A former leader of Ahoada West Local Government Legislative Assembly, Hon. Ibezim Ogbuleka has called on the Ahoada East legislative Council to enact a by-law to check the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in Ahoada main town and its envrionrs.

Hon. Ogbuleka who stated this in his office at Ahoada recently said, even with the establishment of the environmental health department at the local government health centre, the issue of environmental management had been a challenge.

He said the existence of the environmental health department was no guarantee to proper handling of waste at Ahoada.

He expressed the view that most local government areas in the state were not applying the state government’s policies on environment thereby making mockery of governor Amaechi’s developmental strides in the LGAs.

Hon. Ogbuleka who is also the publisher of the Pubic Express, said the environmental health department should designate dumping zones and also enforce and make landlords to pay. He also called for proper maintenance of sanitary lanes by house owners to avoid the flow of waste into the streets.

Also speaking, a fashion designer, Mr. Chukwudi Worlu said that Ahoada had no organised waste disposal system. He said various local governments have come and gone without showing concern for proper waste management.

He opined that waste management was lucrative and wondered why the local government had not found it fit to properly identify the benefits.

He advised that the LGA should have an approved dumpsite, provide waste baskets within the streets of Ahoada and collect money from residents who use such baskets.

“It will go a long way in sanitizing the area and the health of the people will be guaranteed”, he said.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that virtually every street had refuse dumped indiscriminately, some of which include, Ubie Street, Odiemerenyi road, Omoku road, Ekpena road, and across the bridge linking Government Girls Secondary School, (GGSS) and on every undeveloped land.

Efforts to speak with the Deputy Director, Environmental Health Department, Mr. I. Uchibeke proved abortive as he was said to have travelled to Port Harcourt on official duty.

However, chairman, environment Committee, at the legislative assembly, Hon. MacDonald Akujuru could not be reached for comments but a close source which asked not to be named said, “environmental management was capital intensive”, adding that no money has been made available for such operations and expressed the hope that the issue would be tackled in the future.