Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA, says it is introducing sanitation clubs in primary and secondary schools in Aba zone.
Deputy General manager of the agency in Aba zone, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu told Nigerian Pilot in Aba that the initiative is aimed at inculcating positive values on waste disposal to the children, adding that this would go a long way in educating younger generations in Aba to dispose waste decently.
“The initiative is aimed at educating the children from the cradle how to dispose waste decently. I believe that this initiative would produce better results in future when these children graduate to adult because they will learn the decent processes of disposing waste. It would be a shift from the old order,” he said.
Speaking further, Ikpeazu said that he had deployed strategies to ensure that the refuse situation in Aba improves soonest, noting that on assumption of office he took a tour of the areas and found 68 refuse heaps.
He said that they deployed trucks, pay loaders and other equipment and within seven days the refuse heaps were evacuated.
Ikpeazu, who described Aba as one of the leading towns in waste generation, said that he came up with a template that says that Aba residents should dispose their waste in the evenings.
According to him, this is to allow them unfettered access to where the refuse dumps are located because of the traffic situation in the day.
He said that to ensure strict compliance by the residents on waste dumping in the evenings, bucket minders were deployed at the dumps.
Ikpeazu said that lighting equipment is deployed in the evening to light up the dumpsite, which is located at Ngwaiyiekwe, along Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, over 10 kilometers from Aba.
He frowned at the attitude of some people who come from outside Aba to dump refuse in the town, adding that the agency would not hesitate to prosecute such people.
He said that he inherited two trucks on assumption of office but has managed to repair some trucks.
“We have over 60 places where buckets should be but we have less than twenty buckets. We have commissioned an engineer to construct two buckets for us at the cost of N750, 000 each,” he said.
He continued: “My target is that by 7am no single rubbish would be seen in the town but my challenge is that I may not be able to achieve this speed. I have not been there yet, it may take me up to 9.30 am.”
