World Environment  Day: Uvwie PSP President Appeals  To Okowa For Empowerment To Maintain Safe Environment 

By Francis Sadhere

THE President, Uvwie  Private Sector Participants  (PSP) in  Waste Management, Mr Lucky Adjekuko on Monday appealed to the  Governor of Delta State, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa to provide them with loan  facilities that will enable them acquire more trucks to maintain a safer environment for the people of the area.

In an interview with our Correspondent to mark World Environment Day, Mr Adjekuko said  that the challenges of keeping the council area clean will be ameliorated if the private service providers on Waste Management  have more trucks to effectively carry out their duties.

“I want to appeal to Governor Okowa to empower us so that we can do our work perfectly. We want him to use his good offices to give us soft loans just like he is doing in some areas. This will enable us buy new trucks that we will use to enhance the services we are rendering to people. I can bet you if we have up to 25 trucks we will be able to pay back the loans.

While commending Governor Okowa for providing the council area with a permanent dump site, the Uvwie PSP President called the Governor to prevail on the commissioner for environment to collaborate with them to keep the environment clean by enforcing some of the environmental laws already in existence.

Mr Adjekuko lauded  Governor Okowa for his environmental friendly policies adding that the Governor  has shown the world that he is a governor that has the interest of the people at heart.

He said, “Today is World Environment Day and I want to use this opportunity to thank Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for supporting the Private Sector Participants  (PSP) in Uvwie Local Government  Area. We want to thank him for providing a permanent waste dump site for us. In the history of this council area, Governor Okowa is the first governor to provide a permanent dump site for Uvwie Council Area.

He also called on the people of the Council Area and Deltans in general to imbibe the habit of dumping waste properly, stressing that illegal dumping of waste, especially now that the rains are here again is detrimental to the environment and the health of the people.

“Today is World Environment Day and I want to appeal to residents in the council area to try and imbibe the culture of proper waste disposal. They should not be dumping waste indiscriminately . If people can cultivate this culture of proper waste disposal, the environment will be healthy for all of us.

“The rains are here and this is the time for us to be extra careful in the way we dispose waste in the environment because if we are not careful the environment will be susceptible to flood  because all the waste would have blocked the drainage systems,” 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”.

He said;  “Please do not dump waste around the Effurun Roundabout because when you do this you are defacing the environment. The Roundabout  is the gateway to the twin cities of Warri and Effurun so it will not be proper for people to see the whole place looking dirty.”

Commenting  on the activities of wheelbarrow pushers  going from house to house to collect waste from private residence, the Uvwie PSP President  advised the people not to patronize them because according to him, they constitute nuisance to the environment.

He said the wheelbarrow boys do not have any place to dump their waste after they have collected them, adding that they go to any empty land they see and dump their waste and described such action as unhealthy.