Sanitation: Abia Government Hails Compliance

The commissioner for Environment in Abia, Philimon Ogbonna has expressed satisfaction over the level of compliance in the monthly sanitation exercise for the month of July which took place today. The elated Commissioner described the exercise as a remarkable one in recent history.

Speaking to newsmen after the exercise in Umuahia, Ogbonna commended traders at Orie Ụgba Market for heeding the call to stay at home on sanitation days and for keeping the market clean.

He opined that Abians are beginning to align with the vision of the Governor, Dr Alex Otti for a cleaner Abia. The Commissioner added that his team visited Ahiaukwu Olokoro and Ubakala, both in Umuahia South LGA to ascertain the level of compliance which according to him was satisfactory.

While he acknowledged challenges faced previously, the commissioner said the July edition of the exercise marked a turning point, according to due to the injection of the harmonized task force into the monitoring team.

Ogbonna also said the ministry is having talks with the17 Local Government Mayors to extend better compliance to the hard to reach areas in order to ensure every nook and cranny of the state is pulled along.

Also speaking, the member representing Ohafia South State Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Kalu Mba Nwoke extolled the behaviour of the trader while encouraging them to keep up the good work.

Hon. Kalu Mba-Nwoke, disclosed that many communities, particularly Akanu Ohafia in Ohafia Local Government Area, actively participated in the exercise. He urged the police to support the Ministry of Environment by redirecting sanitation defaulters to the appropriate authorities rather than handling them at police stations. Mba-Nwoke emphasized that any penalties collected from defaulters must be remitted to the state through the Ministry, not appropriated by individuals or agencies.

On the unfortunate incident of building collapse; a three-storey building at Road 2 Junction, Low-Cost Housing Estate, Umuahia, Mba-Nwoke described the incident as “ugly” and called for urgent government intervention.

He urged the state to immediately dispatch relevant agencies to the site to prevent further danger, warning that two nearby structures appear unstable and could pose additional risks.

On her part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Professor Ijeoma Ihekwumere, noted that the level of disobedience during the sanitation exercise was minimal and expressed optimism that compliance would continue to improve.

Meanwhile, eighty four persons were arrested. Eleven of them were later discharged, including a health officer, a professor on his way to school, and nine students.