Environmental cleanliness, waste management has remained Gov. Otti’s priority, help sustain it, Ogbonna tasks Abians.
The Abia State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Asonye Ogbonna, has tasked Abians to take the issue that affects the environment seriously in support of Governor Alex who has demonstrated exceptional interest in ensuring a clean and green Abia.
In his speech during a public lecture held in Umuahia, Mr. Ogbonna recalled that one of the trademarks that indexed Abia before the coming of the present administration was foul smell oozing out from dump sites at various locations in the state and garbage that littered the streets of Aba and Umuahia were also a common nauseating sight.
“We are all witnesses of a noticable improvement in the sanitary condition of Abia environment since Governor Alex Otti took over mantle of leadership. The stench that hitherto greeted the passersby and commuters at dump sites in parts of the state have since disappeared. Many of the streets around Umuahia the state capital, and the commercial city of Aba, now look clean”, Ogbonna pointed out
He said that waste management has remained one of the sectors the Otti-led administration has made some undeniable and appreciable imprints and the Governor’s vision is to see Abia become number one and the best state among the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in environmental cleanliness.
He urged the citizens and residents to ensure that the feat is achieved and sustained, while encouraging them to join in the environmental cleanliness on the World Environment Day, slated for Wednesday, 5th June, 2024.
Speaking respectively, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, Prof. Ijeoma Iheukwumere and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Lady Joy Maduka, reminded the public that the environment is for everyone, hence the need to be the vanguard of environmental cleanliness.
In their respective lectures which centered on Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience, Prof. Emmanuel Nzegbule and Prof. G. Chima who touched on re-afforestation, forms of land degradation and its consequences tasked the participants to embrace the culture of tree planting and avoiding acts that can cause soil erosion and other forms of environmental degradation.
