Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
The special Adviser to the Rivers State government on environmental sanitation Prince Obi Ohia DSSRS, JP has called on market traders in the state to have synergy with the state Waste Management Agency RIWAMA for the enforcement of the sanitation law against defaulters.
Prince Obi Ohia made the call during an interactive session with the leadership of market traders across the state at the RIWAMA office mile 4 Rumueme in Obio/Akpor LGA. The RIWAMA Boss who emphasized that he identified the traders as a major source and potential said the essence of having the interactive session with them is to restore the state to its garden city status in line with the government’s effort in ensuring clean environment which would be better for all residents of the state.
Prince Obi Ohia noted that the market traders generate a lot of waste coupled with the domestic waste disclosed that government spent a lot of money in the evacuation of the waste and cannot do it alone hence there is need for the collaboration of traders and other communities leaders and sanitation officers across the state had an interactive session with the RIWAMA aimed at ensuring clean environment in the state. Prince Ohia who expressed satisfaction with the meeting described it as successful and commended the leadership of the market traders for their attendance commenting on the various complained made by the traders at the meeting including lack of enforcement, lack of contractors, collectors collection of money from traders and the evacuation of refuse. Prince Obi Ohia assured of deploying contractors and ensuring enforcement to the affected areas advised traders especially those in Rumuwoji Mile 1 market to dump their refuse to a designated government approved receptacle on time from 6pm to 10pm in the night to avoid illegal collection of money from contractors.
He further assure them of intervening in thier matter by talking with the contractors to desist from the ugly trend.
It would be recalled that during the interactive session some of the market traders leadership including those from Rumuwoji Mile 1 Market, Creek Road Market, Oil Mill, Rumuokoro Market, among others had complained of lack of enforcement, lack of contractors, collection of money from traders before the evaculation of waste in the market.***
