The Director -General of the Warri, Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency (WUEDA), Hon. Prince Godwin Ejinyere, says indiscriminate disposal of refuse in parts of the Agency’s mandate areas is unacceptable, especially on spots close to, or at the entrance of the Oil City.
Prince Ejinyere said this when he led WUEDA’s team to evacuate the massive heaps of refuse along Sapele road near Mayhams petrol filling station, before MercyLand Church, using a swamp buggy.
Some scavengers were seen on the refuse heaps, while some youths dumped more refuse on top of the already built up heaps.
The WUEDA DG said the massive refuse heaps defaced the entrance of the metropolis, and, therefore, must be evacuated, calling on residents to look out for and apprehend offenders to be used as scapegoats.
He advised the Sariki of Hausa community in the area, Alhaji Ali Suleiman Jauro, and another leader in the area, Mallam Musa to sensitize their people against indiscriminate dumping of refuse to forestall the spread of germs and diseases, adding that anyone caught would face the wrath of the law.
Although they denied knowledge of those who dumped the refuse in the area, Alhaji Suleiman and Mallam Musa admitted that the refuse must have been dumped by residents of the locality, thanking Prince Ejinyere and the Agency for the initiative, while promising to ensure compliance with the Agency’s warning so as to achieve the desired results.
The Chairman of Uvwie Local Government, Chief Anthony Ofoni, who visited the spot with some staff of the Council’s Environmental Task Force, described the refuse heaps as an embarrassment to the Local Government.
He said signposts prohibiting dumping of refuse would be erected at strategic public places in the Council Area, while the Environmental Task Force would deal with offenders in line with appropriate laws.
Meanwhile, Prince Godwin Ejinyere has frowned at the slow pace of work at the ongoing storm water drainage project around the Warri City Stadium being handled by Levant Construction Company.
The DG, who led a team of the Agency’s civil engineers to inspect the project the same day, said the job started on the 24th of June this year, and ought to have been near completion, but for the slow pace of work.
The DG said the Governor awarded the drainage contract to solve the problem of flooding in the stadium and its environs, including Ogedegbe, Sido, Cemetery and other streets, channeling the water into the Warri River through the Ogbe-Ijoh market.
The Area Manager of Levant Construction Company, Mr. Thassan Jadel, told the DG that the Company was still dealing with issues of compensation but promised to increase the pace of work to be able to deliver the project soon and according to specifications.
