The leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ebonyi State and a social media commentator, Mr. Echefo Williams, have traded words over waste evacuation and the state of environmental sanitation in Abakaliki metropolis and other parts of the state.
Williams had, in a post on his official Facebook page, alleged that the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Victor Chukwu, had repeatedly distanced himself from the deteriorating sanitation situation in the state capital by blaming contractors responsible for waste evacuation.
He further claimed that information available to him indicated that the contract for waste evacuation in Abakaliki was being handled by the Ebonyi State APC executive, led by the party chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, rather than the Ministry of Environment.
According to him, “The fate of Abakaliki’s environment hangs in the balance because of political patronage. The pertinent question is: who awarded the waste evacuation contract in Abakaliki to the Ebonyi APC State Executive?”
Reacting to the allegations, the media aide to the APC state chairman, Mr. Polycarp Obinna Alegu, dismissed the claims as misleading and clarified the waste management structure in the state.
Alegu explained that Abakaliki metropolis is divided into 18 sanitation zones, each managed by designated contractors engaged by the Ministry of Environment.
According to him, the contractors, who are all Ebonyi indigenes, were employed as ad hoc personnel by the ministry and are paid monthly to evacuate refuse across the city.
“The contractors engage labourers and tipper drivers who move from one refuse dump to another daily for evacuation to the final disposal site. They are responsible for paying the workers from their contract proceeds,” he said.
He added that the commissioner for environment also recruited more than 80 ad hoc supervisors, mainly youths, whose responsibility is to monitor sanitation across the city and report poorly managed refuse dumps or non-performing contractors to the ministry for necessary action.
“The ministry equally has environmental marshals whose responsibility is to enforce environmental laws, apprehend offenders and hand them over for prosecution,” Alegu stated.
He stressed that the APC executive has no constitutional or administrative responsibility for waste evacuation, insisting that its role is limited to offering advice and drawing the attention of contractors and relevant authorities to areas requiring intervention.
“The responsibility for waste evacuation in Abakaliki lies squarely with the contractors under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment, not party officials,” he said.
Alegu maintained that the commissioner, Victor Chukwu, had continued to sanction erring contractors and supervisors where necessary, while Governor Francis Nwifuru had consistently provided funds to the ministry to support sanitation activities.
He, however, urged contractors to improve their performance, noting that the ministry’s responsibility is waste management rather than the impossible task of completely eliminating waste generation.
“It is impossible to eradicate waste because it is generated every minute by residents. Even in developed countries, absolute waste elimination is unattainable,” he said.
He also blamed some residents for indiscriminate dumping of refuse on roads, medians and drainage channels, saying such practices contribute significantly to the sanitation challenges in the state.
According to him, environmental cleanliness is a shared responsibility between government and the public.
“We urge residents to comply with environmental laws instead of placing the entire burden on government. Let everyone play their part, because a clean environment can only be achieved through collective responsibility,” he added.
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