AKSEPWMA: Unmasking those endangering, ‘de-marketing’ Akwa Ibom (1)
By Moses Tom
Akwa Ibom is on the verge of losing its status as the Cleanest State in Nigeria going by the increasing heaps of refuse littering the streets of the state capital, a situation that has posed impending health hazards in Uyo. In this series, Morenews.ng unearths a thrilling fact: the state and its people are being endangered and de-marketed healthwise by those who suppose to protect them.
We begin with how, Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency, AKSEPWMA endangers and ‘de-markets’ Akwa Ibom, causing impending health hazards in Uyo.
Akwa Ibom State has carved a nitch for itself as, unarguably, the Cleanest State in Nigeria. The status was achieved mostly through the innovative models and initiatives of the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency, factored in the waste management and environmental protection since the reconstitution of the Board by Governor Udom Emmanuel in 2018.
The flag of “the Greater Akwa Ibom Clean-up Campaign” in October 2020 greatly complements the government’s unflinching effort toward the regeneration of the environment, raising awareness on the proper waste disposal and sundry environmental-related matters.
As the Chairman of AKSEPWMA, Obong Prince Ikim, hinted in May 2022, “The campaign hinted more on the prohibition of littering the streets, indiscriminate disposal of waste in gutters by residents, defecating in unauthorized flanks, trading at unauthorized areas as well as sensitization on residents engagement in personal hygiene and general cleanliness”
The initial success of the campaign is now history as AKSEPWMA continues to lose its luster.
There are impending health hazards in Uyo following threats of an outbreak of contagious in the state capital as odour and dirt keep emanating from dump sites in nearby markets and residential areas that have gone untreated in recent years.
A tour of the city and its surroundings revealed piles of refuse that had accumulated without the attention of the environmental agency. Among the worst hits are Eka Street, Calabar-Itu Highway by Eneng Mkprong, Atiku Abubakar Avenue, Ikot Ekpene Road, Ikot Ambang, Nwaniba Road, Itam Market, Akpan Andem Market, IBB Avenue, Obio Imo Street, and Ikpa Road.
For instance, in Eka Street, a stone-throw from Ibom Plaza, the heart of Uyo, residents, and passersby are gasping for clean breath following the odour oozing from an uncleared refuse dump point that has been abandoned for more than one week. Waste has reduced the already compromised road to a track, barely wide enough for a vehicle to pass in a bend noted for missed auto crashes.
The crux of the matter is down to the decision of AKSEPWMA to withdraw significant numbers of personnel and equipment from evacuation zones across Uyo Metropolis, despite enjoying a 1,224,500, 000.00 approved budget in 2020.
The Uyo Capital City is segmented into 7 garbage evacuation zones, each of which is overseen by a resource person otherwise called, contractor. Each zone was to be served by four evacuation trucks and each truck has six evacuators (conductors) and a driver. But Morenews.ng authoritatively gathered that Prince Ikim-led Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency has recently withdrawn three trucks alongside their 18 personnel each of the zone, leaving only one truck with six personnel to serve a zone. That is grossly inadequate given the increasing volume of waste generated in Uyo in recent times.
There seem to be 215 authorized garbage dump stations located around the city of Uyo. Of this number, 160 are in high-volume dumping areas and 55 low-volume waste places designated. Around Uyo metropolis, there are more than 186 unapproved trash dump sites. Even when the designated receptacles are empty, waste is frequently deposited on the ground at both approved and illegal disposal sites around the city instead of in their designated containers.
It appears AKSEPWMA evacuators even prefer the garbage on the ground to in the receptacles because they form the habit of pouring refuse on the floor before scooping them into the baskets. The truth is that receptacles are hardly seen even at the approved waste dump points. The development posed serious impending health hazards in Uyo.
