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PH Floods:Obuah Sacks Desilting Contractors …Warns Against Sabotaging Govt’s Policies
The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro Felix Obuah, has terminated the contracts of all the desilting contractors engaged by the agency.
Obuah announced this after a meeting with the concerned contractors, last Monday, in Port Harcourt.
According to the sole administrator, the sack, which is with immediate effect, became necessary due to the lukewarm attitude of the desilting contractors to their job.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, yesterday, and made available to The Tide, Obuah said, the agency can no longer allow the contractors continue to flout its directives with impunity.
Obuah stated that same stubbornness of the contractors was partly responsible for the regrettable flooding being recorded in parts of the state.
He regretted that after expending so much money to pay them for their services, the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, was particularly disturbed that they were unable to discharge their duties of evacuating wastes from drainages and waterways creditably, thereby plunging the state capital and its environs into avoidable flooding in recent times.
The sole administrator also frowned at the continued disposal of solid wastes into drainages and waterways by residents, and warned that the agency would no longer tolerate the dumping of solid wastes indiscriminately.
Obuah said that the action will serve as a deterrent to other contractors who may be contemplating flouting the agency’s directives with impunity.
Meanwhile, the Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah, has described the flooding which swept through parts of Port Harcourt and its environs over the weekend as unfortunate and highly regrettable.
Obuah, in a statement in Port Harcourt, last Monday, explained that the unfortunate flooding which rendered some people homeless and destroyed properties, was the handiwork of people who refused to heed to several warnings regarding indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
The sole administrator regretted that RIWAMA had through several fora, warned residents and those doing business in the state against the dumping of solid wastes and unused construction materials into drainages and other water channels, but that such warnings had always been ignored.
“This is a very sad and calamitous situation but it would also have been avoided, if all the warnings and appeals from the agency had been heeded.
“Recall that RIWAMA had made repeated advertorials, audio and visual jingles, messages and awareness campaigns to no avail. These efforts apparently fell on deaf ears, leading to the avoidable situation we have found ourselves”, Obuah lamented.
Obuah, while sympathizes with the victims of the flood disaster, further called on residents and those doing business in the state to adhere to environmental rules by not throwing garbage into drainages and waterways, to allow for the free flow of water.
He further called on the people to reciprocate the efforts of Governor Nyesom Wike, who has given all necessary support to the agency, to keep the state clean and healthy at all times.
The sole administrator also charged traders to play pivotal role in keeping the city clean, by working in synergy to ensure the implementation of government’s policy to make Port Harcourt and its environs flood-free.
The RIWAMA boss appealed to traders to make it a routine to properly bag their wastes and dump them at approved government receptacles only, within designated hours, charging them to report recalcitrant ones among them to the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) for immediate action.
Obuah also advised traders who sell in the evenings, especially in Mile One, Mile Three, Rumuokoro, Creek Road, Ogbunabali, Rumuomasi, Trans-Amadi (Slaughter), Garrison, Water-Lines, Amadi-Ama Roundabout, YKC Roundabout in Woji, Rumuodara, Eneka, Oyigbo, Eleme, among others, to clean their areas before leaving the markets, while ensuring that wastes are not dumped indiscriminately.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.