Mobile Court Convicts 59 as Abia’s Monthly Sanitation Records Poor Turnout

Abia State’s monthly sanitation exercise held last Saturday recorded poor participation, but the state moved swiftly to enforce compliance as a mobile court convicted 59 of the 66 persons brought before it various offences.

The exercise, which holds every last Saturday of the month, was cancelled for three consecutive months to accommodate state functions, officials said.

Chairman of the Abia State House Committee on Environment and Urban Renewal, Hon. Kalu Mba Nwoke, and Head of Department, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs. Happiness Akpulonu, who represented the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna, expressed their dissatisfaction with the turn out of residents in the state capital after inspecting Orie Ugba Market, Isi Gate, Okigwe Motor Park and Railway Chicken Market, all in Umuahia.

Hon. Nwoke, member representing Ohafia South, during an interview with newsmen, described the turnout as disappointing. “Well, not encouraging, to be honest. And I think I will attribute it to the three months break of the exercise,” he said.

He described Orie Ugba Market as “an eyesore” and singled out Access Bank on Owerri Road for harbouring a blocked drainage. He directed health officials to serve the bank an abatement notice. “Give them the necessary period for them to clean up. If they fail to do, let the law take its course there.”

He also called on the General Manager of the Umuahia Capital Development Authority, UCDA, to clear blocked drainages at Isi Gate. “They are completely blocked,” he noted, adding, “Generally, today, I’m not happy,” he stated.

The lawmaker warned against losing the gains of the “New Abia” agenda. “It is like we are forgetting the new Abia just so soon, three months of no sanitation exercise. I want to encourage and remind Abians that it’s not over yet. The exercise continues,” he said.

Nwoke, however, appealed to residents to embrace cleanliness as a culture, saying: “Even if there is no official declaration of clean-ups, we should imbibe it in our spirits, in our hearts, and know that we have to clean our environment without even being told… We’ve started again. And I know we will improve.”

Mrs. Akpulonu, speaking for the Commissioner, echoed the lawmaker’s frustration. “I’m not happy. I’m not happy. And just like the Honourable said, I think I attribute it to the inactivity for the past months. Because there are heaps of refuse, especially in Orie Ugba and in most of the markets,” she said.

“My team was overwhelmed because we could not cart away the refuse we were supposed to cart away. But I think going forward we can do that,” she added.

The Commissioner’s representative said persuasion had failed. “I have seen that residents in Umuahia particularly, need force. Generally, people need force. So I don’t think I will be advising anymore. I think we will have to go into enforcement,” she said.

She also blamed Environmental Health Officers for inactivity across the 17 LGAs, and urged Mayors to mobilize them on clean-up days to carry out their responsibilities. She called for a return to routine sanitary inspection, noting that the Ministry currently relies only on spot checks and complaints.

Government officials confirmed that the Sanitation Mobile Court on Saturday, arraigned 66 persons arrested for various offences during the exercise. It discharged seven on health grounds and students-related, sentenced 9 to community service, while the rest paid fines.