NO fewer than 67 persons were arrested by operatives of the Rivers State Police Command for flouting the state sanitation laws.
The offenders were arrested on Saturday
between the hours of 7.30am and 9.30am for disobeying the restriction of
movement order by the state government.
While some of those arrested were fined
after being tried by the Sanitation Court in Port Harcourt, others were
warned to desist from breaching sanitation laws in the state.
Offenders arrested were mostly women who went out to buy or sell goods in a distant market.
Speaking
shortly after the three-hour exercise, the Sole Administrator of the
Rivers State Waste Management Agency, Chief Felix Obuah, said though the
agency was not interested in the prosecution of sanitation offenders,
it was imperative for the people of the state to participate in the
monthly exercise.
Obuah said the police and a sanitation court were on ground to try and punish any persons flouting sanitation laws.
“Everybody is joining hands to make sure
Rivers State is clean. We are grateful to God Almighty and to the state
governor, who has provided this enabling environment for all of us to
perform.
“Our interest is to ensure that everybody
participates; we are not interested in prosecuting anybody. We are
concerned about keeping Rivers State clean.
“But for those of them who will now want
to violate our environmental laws, we have a court and a police post
right here in our premises. Today’s event is so remarkable because most
corporate organisations like NDDC and some environmental sanitation
marshals are participating in the exercise.
“Courtesy of the state governor, Rivers
State is gradually returning to its lost glory as Port Harcourt is no
longer called garbage city because everywhere is clean.
“The House of Assembly members and the
government officials are joining us in today’s environmental sanitation.
This is to show that the government is interested in the cleanliness of
Rivers State,” he said.
The RIWAMA sole administrator, however,
warned sanitation contractors in the state to take the job of keeping
the state clean seriously or have their contracts terminated.
He said, “Any sanitation contractor that does not do his work will get his contract terminated.
“That is why we are having competent
contractors. I am not interested in unnecessary sentiments; I am
interested in getting the work done.”
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