Rivers
Group Predicts Garden City Status Return For Rivers … Lauds Fubara Over New RIWAMA Boss’ Appointment
An environmental health advocacy group in Nigeria, the Community Health and Advocacy Initiative (CHAIN), has said Rivers State will soon return to its Garden City status.
The South-South Project Coordinator of CHAIN, Engr. Sunny Andy Dimkpa, who stated this recently on the sidelines of a two-day workshop themed “Eat, Clean and Live” in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, said this is due to the leadership style and focus of the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
“Under the leadership of an astute administrator like Governor Fubara, who possesses extensive field knowledge in community health and the Rivers State environment, meaningful progress can be achieved”, he said.
Dimkpa used the fora to commend the State Governor for responding to the concerns of environmental stakeholders by strengthening waste management operations in the state, particularly with the appointment of Hon. Orukwem Amadi-Opareli as the Managing Director of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA).
He further praised the Governor for identifying young talents to drive key sectors of his economic reforms, noting that Amadi-Opareli’s leadership at RIWAMA signals the beginning of a transformative era for sanitation in Rivers State.
Describing Amadi-Opareli’s appointment as a clear testament to the Governor’s commitment to ridding Port Harcourt and its environs of filth, the CHAIN boss expressed optimism about the possibility of restoring Port Harcourt to its former Garden City status.
Towards this end, Dimkpa urged the new RIWAMA helmsman to “align the agency’s core mandate with Governor Fubara’s Sectoral Focus on Environment and Sanitation, while taking deliberate steps to engage communities and retraining of sanitation enforcement agents as a means of facilitating the efficient implementation of waste management policies”.
He also advocated for an improved sanitary culture among Rivers State residents, calling for the revival of the state’s monthly sanitation exercise.
Soibi Max-Alalibo