Abia Government says landlords and tenants will henceforth be held responsible for improper refuse disposal in front of their houses or buildings.
The state governor, Mr Okezie Ikpeazu, stated this when he spoke to State House Correspondents in Abuja on Sunday, and particularly warned residents of Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state, against frustrating state government’s efforts in de-silting the city.
According to him, a pollutant must be held responsible for waste that are improperly disposed.
He said “the attitude of the average Aba person lives much to be desired. If you cloak the drains in front of your houses with polythene bags and other materials, you are inviting flood.
“I think it is about time now for people to know that citizens have responsibility to the environment and to government.
‘”Whereas government has responsibility to citizens, people must also understand that nobody can manage the waste of another until he or she cooperates with government.
”So, I want to say that we will continue to build drainage systems on our roads but with deliberate efforts to de-silt.
“I want to sound a word of warning to my people in Aba that if we finish this next round of de-silting, we will hold landlords, tenants and households responsible for garbage in their houses.”
The governor reiterated his determination to continue to expand and rehabilitate the state’s network of roads with two-sided drains in towns and cities across the state.
On the request for the establishment of Fulani Youth Vigilante body in communities of the South East by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ikpeazu said such request would not be granted in Abia.
MACBAN had during a security summit in Enugu on Thursday, demanded for the establishment of the vigilante body to complement its host communities’ security and other constituted security apparatus in the zone.
However, Ikpeazu said Abia had put in place various measures to safeguard lives and property of citizens, irrespective of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, and hence, no need for the vigilante body in the state.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had in a statement accused governors in South East of conniving with the herders toward the establishment of vigilante body in the region.(NAN)