AEPB reiterates resolve to clean up Abuja

By Stanley Onyekwere

The new acting director of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Baba Lawan Shehu, has reiterated his resolve to improve on the standard of city sanitation especially in the areas of solid waste evacuation and control of street trading within 3months.

Also, the new acting director of the Board promised to sustain the achievements of his predecessors.

He made this point during a familiarization and inspection tour of some of the Board’s waste management facilities in the FCT.

Peoples Daily reports that Shehu, until his appointment as the new acting director of the Board, was a Deputy Director in the Parks and Recreation Department of Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC).

According to a statement signed by the Head of Information and Outreach Programme, AEPB, Mr. Joe Ukairo, some of the facilities visited include: Ajata Waste Dump Site, Gouza Dump Site, Wupa Waste Water Treatment Plant, and Solid Waste Transfer Station site at Gudu, respectively.

While at Ajata dump site, the new acting director,revealed that two new dump sites have been identified, and will be put to use immediately.

This, he said is needful to speedily clear the backlog of waste within residential and business premises within the city centre occasioned by poor turnaround time of waste collection team due to traffic congestion along Ajata dumpsite in the Nyanya axis.

He advised residents against disposing off their waste indiscriminately, instead they should use garbage bags to store additional waste and wait for the assigned waste collection contractor for proper evacuation.

Also, he called on the residents to desist from street hawking and other activities that alter the ecosystem negatively.

However, encouraging the public to make use of the AEPB Hotlines and report cases of contractor’s non-performance, he appealed for regular and timely payment for services rendered by the Board to help the administration sustain the services.