**** SAYS SMART GREEN ENVIRONMENT BEAUTICATION PROJECT ON COURSE

THE President, Uvwie  Private Sector Participants  (PSP) in  Waste Management, Mr Lucky Adjekuko has appealed to the Delta   State Governor,Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa to assist waste management experts in the area to maintain the newly approved dump site.

In an interview with our Correspondent, the waste management expert, commended Governor Okowa for providing them with a dump site at Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the State, but appealed for assistance in maintaining the dump site.

According to him,  they cannot  maintain the dump site alone hence his passionate appeal to the Governor.

He said that they were supposed to be assisted by  the State Waste Management Board  in maintaining the government approved dump site, but claimed  that has not be case since the private waste management came on stream.

“I want to appeal to Governor Okowa to come to our  aid and assist us in maintaining the  dump site. We have been using our funds so far and it has not been easy for us. The State Waste Management Board is not doing anything to assist us .If anybody tells you that they are the ones maintaining that dump site, that person is lying. We are the one  footing  the bill of pushing the waste further into the site and this is not easy at all with us”, he said.

Mr Adjekuko warned those still dumping waste indiscriminately in the area  to have a rethink and do the needful as plans are underway to send such people to jail.

He  lamented  the poor handling of waste by residents  in the council area, adding that they are working with the judiciary to provide legal backing for them to start arresting and prosecuting  people who dump waste indiscriminately.

He said, “We want a situation whereby anybody caught disposing waste indiscriminately will be sent to jail. We are still in that process. We have a big problem in our hands because people do not know how to dump their wastes properly. People will just be driving along the road and you see them throwing waste along the road. We have to inculcate the habit of dumping waste properly. This is the reason why we came up with the idea of sending people to jail whenever they are caught dumping waste indiscriminately.”

The Waste Management expert however said that they are carrying out enlightenment campaign to sensitize the people on the legal implication of dumping waste indiscriminately, stressing that very soon they will start enforcing the law.

“But for now we are carrying out enlightenment campaigns to enlighten the people on the need to dump waste properly. We are telling people that  anybody caught dumping waste indiscriminately will be tried and if found guilty will  be sent to jail. So by the time we start enforcing this law, people will not tell  us that they were not informed”, Mr  Adjekuko said.

Mr Adjekuko who is the initiator of the Smart Environment Beautication , while commenting on the Effurun Roundabout beautification project,  said it has not been abandoned, saying that   the project was slowed down as a result of funds, but assured that work on the project would soon resume again and be completed in no distant time.

In his words; “The beautification of Effurun Roundabout in  Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State  is my initiative and we are collaborating with the Uvwie PSP. We are the only ones sponsoring the project and the first budget for it has been exhausted that is why the project has been on hold for now. But as soon as we get the funds we are expecting, we will go back to site and finish it up and that will be very soon. We cannot afford to abandon the laudable project”.

On his assessment of  Governor Okowa so far, Mr  Adjekuko said, “So far I will say that the governor has done well in terms of infrastructures because without infrastructures there will be no development. Governor Okowa has rehabilitated a lot of roads in the state and this has helped in opening up the rural areas.

“He has also empowered a lot of youths through the various empowerment projects. If he has done so much in the past two years, there is no doubt that he will do more in the coming years. To me, I will say the Governor has done well and I pray he brings prosperity to all of us. I also believe that he will soon beam his searchlight on us by empowering those of us that are in the business of waste management.”