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The Bayelsa State Government, a Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, has charged the management of Ekeki Motor Park to ensure regular cleaning of drainages and maintain a hygienic environment to prevent flooding and disease outbreaks.
Technical Adviser 1 to Governor Douye Diri on Environment, Comrade Morris Alagoa, gave the charge during a meeting with the Park Management Committee in Yenagoa, the city capital.
Alagoa expressed displeasure over the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drainages by traders, noting that the practice undermines the government’s efforts and projects the state in bad light.
“The habit of littering refuse into drainages instead of using the receptacles provided by the government does not speak well of us as a people,” he said.
“A dirty environment breeds sickness and causes flooding. The Park Management Committee must be alive to its responsibility of keeping the environment clean.”
The Technical Adviser urged the committee to provide adequate waste bins and intensify sensitisation on the dangers of dumping refuse in drainages.
He assured the committee of the government’s readiness to support initiatives that promote environmental cleanliness.
Also speaking, the Programme Manager I, Environmental Conservation, Agriculture and Rural Development, ECARD, James Yibatoro-Igela, highlighted the health and safety implications of blocked drainages.
“Dumping refuse in drainages leads to flash floods and increases the risk of water-borne diseases,” he stated. Yibatoro-Igela said ECARD is open to collaboration with the Park Management Committee to ensure a clean and business-friendly environment.
Responding, the Chairman of the Ekeki Park Management Committee, Tekema Johnbull, thanked the Technical Adviser and ECARD for their concern.
Represented by the Committee Secretary, Mr Ipomuowei Sadimaka, Johnbull said the committee has been conducting monthly cleaning of drainages and the park environment.
He noted that on assumption of office, the committee met a huge refuse dumpsite within the park premises, evacuated the waste, and appealed to the government to provide a receptacle in the park.
He also called on refuse evacuation contractors to partner with the committee to ensure consistent waste clearance.
However, he identified inadequate funding as the major constraint to more frequent clean-up exercises.
He pledged the committee’s commitment to do more and expressed willingness to partner with the Office of the Technical Adviser and ECARD for a cleaner Ekeki Park.
