RSG Sets Up Five-Man Sanitation Task Force …As PHALGA Spends N.8m Daily On Waste Disposal

Rivers State Government has constituted at five-man tasks force to quickly address the worsening sanitation situation in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of the state.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Governor of Rivers State, Kelvin Ebiri, last Wednesday, said: “His Excellency, Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, has set up a five-man task force on sanitation, to oversee the clearing of refuse in Port Harcourt and its environs.
“Members of the Task Force on Sanitation are: Hon Isoboye Jack (chairman); Hon. Josiah Olu; Hon. Victor Ihunwo; Prince Wali Wosu; and Princess Ibiene Ogan.
“The appointment takes immediate effect”.
The statement directed “All members of the task force to report to the Governor’s Office, Government House, Port Harcourt by 3:00pm on Thursday, June 2, 2022″, for briefing.
Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area said it has spent a whooping N800,000 daily to evacuate waste in the city.
Secretary of the council, Chile Owuru said this while playing host to members of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Eco who paid a courtesy visit over the waste/dirt ravaging parts of the metropolis.
Owuru, who represented the chairman of the council, explained that the steps have, however, been taken to salvage the situation.
“Upon realising that there are no refuse dumpsites in PHALGA, the council created some, one at the Njemanze area of the city. Part of the measures the mayor has adopted is making every government appointee in the council an automatic member of the sanitation committee with the responsibility of monitoring waste disposal in their neighbourhood”, the statement read in part.
The PHALGA scribe, however, commended the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Eco for showing concern, while noting that the club was the only organisation that has visited the council to assist in ending the menace.
On her part, President of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Eco, Emem Okon, explained that the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Eco was the first Rotary Club inWest Africa and the second in Africa whose key focus is environmentalprotection and conservation.
According to the president, who is also the executive director of Kabetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, “it is dangerous toallow waste litre everywhere on the streets and roads in the Garden City”,adding that if steps were not taken to immediately evacuate the wastes, there wasthe possibility of diseases’ outbreak with devastating impacts on the vulnerableones, especially women and children in this era of COVID-19 and small pox pandemic.
She, however, commended the council for taking urgent steps in ensuring the city gets back it’s Garden City status.