 |
| Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu |
Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has directed the immediate sack of the General Manager of Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency (ASEPA), Mr Okechukwu Apugo.
A release by the Commissioner of Information, Chief John Okiyi said that Apugo was sacked over poor sanitation situation in Umuahia, the State capital.
According to Kalu, the Governor gave the directive while on project tour in the state after passing through Ochendo by pass road and saw heaps of refuse along littered along the road.
The information commissioner stated that the Governor Ikpeazu also directed the Secretary to State Government, Barr Chris Ezem, to take over sanitation in Umuahia with Dr Aham Uko assisting him.
Ikpeazu has said that he would in the next four weeks, personally coordinates and supervises evacuation and disposal of refuse within the Aba metropolis.
This is even as Ikpeazu has equally declared a State of Emergency on Environmental Sanitation in the state.
The decision of the Governor to take over waste management activities in the state for four weeks was in response to the increasing challenges of waste management in some parts of the State (which seems to have proven overwhelming for the managers) including Aba, the commercial nerve of the state where the state generates tons of domestic and industrial waste daily.
The Press secretary to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Onyebuchi Ememanka in a release also hinted that the Governor who happed on the need for a cleaner, hygienic and healthier environment would be signing an Executive Order in the next couple of days where distinct Waste Management Authorities would be created to manage waste in the major metropolitan Local Government Areas in the state.
โThe Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ph.D. has declared a State of Emergency on Environmental Sanitation in response to the increasing challenges of waste management in some parts of the State.
Consequently, the Governor will, in a matter of days, sign an Executive Order to create distinct Waste Management Authorities in the following Metropolitan Local Government Areas of the State โ Aba North, Aba South, Osisioma Ngwa, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo, Umuahia South and Umuahia North Local Government Waste Managers shall be appointed immediately to superintendent over these Waste Management Authorities in the specified Local Government Areas.
Effective from today, Friday, 27th September 2019, the Governor shall, for four weeks, PERSONALLY take over and coordinate Waste Management activities in the entire Aba Metropolis to restore sanity and discipline in the entire Waste Management System within the emergency period.โ
It could be recalled that Ikpeazu had within the week handed over two refuse compactor trucks to ASEPA to help them in the management of wastes in the state, an action that has received commendations from Aba residents.
