Immediately on the assumption of office, Governor Alex Otti declared a state of emergency on sanitation and repositioned the State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) to be more proactive in responding to its primary responsibility. These bold initiatives have marked a significant step towards achieving a clean environment in Abia State.
Since the declaration, several initiatives have been put in place to address environmental concerns. The governor purchased and distributed compactors and other refuse evacuation equipment to help ASEPA personnel in carrying out the job of refuse disposal and management.
Also, the salary arrears of staff of the agency were cleared to motivate the workers to higher productivity.
Today, the workers now work with a sense of responsibility and commitment in the discharge of their duties.
The result is a cleaner and neater environment we now have, unlike in the past when Abia bore the badge of the dirtiest state in the country.
Today, refuse dumps filled with waste no longer litter all the nooks and crannies of the state as waste is now cleared promptly and regularly, making the state look clean and healthy.
Another notable development is the inauguration of the ASEPA Monitoring and Compliance Team, Aba Zone, led by Governor Otti himself.
The team was tasked with the responsibility of enforcing environmental laws and regulations, ensuring that residents and businesses adhere strictly to the best practices in waste management and environmental sanitation.
In Aba, residents no longer dump their refuse indiscriminately as the state government carried out awareness campaigns to educate the residents about environmental protection. These efforts aimed at promoting a culture of environmental responsibility among citizens.
There is no doubt about the impact of the state government’s state of emergency on environmental sanitation, as evidence abounds that Abia is now wearing a new look as one of the cleanest states. The citizenry appears to have imbibed the new culture of responsibility in waste disposal and management.
They no longer see the job of refuse evacuation and management as entirely a government responsibility but as a shared task, partnering to ensure a clean and healthy environment.
There is a need to sustain this partnership to ensure that the current status is maintained and that the state does not slide back to the worrisome days when refuse and human beings struggled for space in Abia. When odours oozing from refuse dumps were enough to suffocate residents, and people traded on top of heaps of refuse bins, affecting the health of the state.
Kudos to Governor Alex Otti.
