Abia Monthly Sanitation: We Have Not Reached An El-dorado, – Ikechukwu Oriuwa

The Abia State government says it is yet to reach its target in the area of sanitation in the state. The permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Ikechukwu Oriuwa who spoke on behalf of the Honourable Commissioner for Environment, Philimon Ogbonna stated this in Umuahia on Saturday, August 30, 2025 while addressing journalists after monitoring the sanitation exercise for the month of August.

He admitted that the state has made progress in the area of citizen’s compliance but regretted that the markets and motor parks in Umuahia and its environs have remained backward in compliance.

Oriuwa specifically expressed dismay that the traders at Orie Ụgba Market who showed signs of change in the last edition of the exercise came back to the market and continued trading during the period of the exercise.

“People can now come out on their own to do clean-up, without being coerced or forced to do it, except the parks and the markets. I thought we had gotten to an el-dorado, but at this point I discovered that the parks and the markets are not ready to comply. At Orie Ụgba markets, last clean-up they complied, but this clean-up they came back to the markets.”

He then posited that the traditional yam festival of the community that hosts the market was the reason for the businesses going on inside the market when the monitoring team visited, dismissing the insinuation that failure of the government to fumigate the market as promised could be the reason.

“No, we can attribute that to the New Yam festival, because you observe that the orie ugba market is at the heart of a village, So, the youths were all out preparing for the New Yam festival. So, you give an exception to that.”

He then opined that there’s a need for increased sensitization to encourage people to embrace environmental cleanliness.

“So, I think we have to step up and sensitize the markets and the parks, that’s the only area we are having a problem with. The people are complying. So, the clean-up is a success, except for these few areas we are having issues.”

He condemned in strong terms, the attitude of Police officers attached to the Central Police station in Umuahia and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), who arrest supposed defaulters and take them to their stations where the collect money from them urging them to direct the defaulters to the sanitation court, situated in the premises of the State High Court, Umuahia.

“The police at CPS, the civil defence, what they do is they arrest people and take them inside their barracks. No, the right thing is, when you arrest, you take them to the basic environmental courts, at the high courts, for them to be prosecuted in line with the basic environmental law of the states.”

On his part, the member representing Ohafia South State constituency and the Chairman House Committee on Environment, Honourable Kalu Mba Nwoke, popularly known as Etiokwe, said the issue of not fumigating the Orie Ụgba market was not the reason for the heavy presence of people with commercial activities going on at market, adding that rodent control tablets were administered in strategic locations in the market.

“I want to start by correcting the impression that we promised to do fumigation, and we didn’t do it. Orie Ụgba was taken care of. Some tablets were dropped in strategic places to take care of rodents.”

Reacting to another incident involving officers of the NSCDC at the FMC junction, the lawmakers condemned the action of some uniformed men who because of their uniforms, violet the sanitation laws.

Trouble started when an officer of the NSCDC who boarded a tricycle, also known as Keke was flagged down by members of the Abia State Vigilante Service who was enforcing the sanitation law. The Civil Defense officer ordered the keke rider to break the barricade and move on without respect to the law enforcement team there.

Soon after that, he came back with other Civil Defense officers and attacked the vigilante members who were carrying out legitimate duty that one of them had his clothes torn.

According to Honourable Mba Nwoke, it was an abuse of office and an abuse of power.

He charged uniformed men and women to show simple courtesy by properly identifying themselves when needed, especially when not in their uniforms.

“I also want to condemn the attitude of our uniformed men. Yes, we know that those on essential duties should be allowed to move about.
But simple courtesy of those that are on the road, actually. Who are you? You will be human enough to say, I am so, so and so person. Everything is not always force.”

He was optimistic that a time will come when proper sanitation would become part of our lives and there would not be a need to chase people about to enforce compliance.

“So, we are getting there. We will. d
Definitely, there will be a time that we will not even be doing environmental exercise.
It will become part of us.”

Lending her voice, the Special Adviser to the governor on Environment Prof Ijeoma Iheukwumere encouraged women and youths to support the government in the effort to make Abia clean.

She said women should be the ones leading the fight against dirty environment, noting that a clean Abia is for the good of all.

“Women are supposed to be the one in the forefront for this particular war on cleanliness. That was why I had to talk to them, because they have to help the government keep Abia clean. Abia is supposed to be clean. It’s not supposed to be a case of every month or moving around, chasing people around to clean.”

It’s for our own good. It’s for the interests of everybody, all the inhabitants of abia state. We should clean our environment, so that the environment will be safe for us.
So, for them to even do their businesses, we should work in a very clean environment.”

And for the youths, she has this to say, “Yes, the youths are supposed to be engaged, because they are the ones that have the power to do all this work. We should encourage them. Not on the clean up days, they will be loitering around.”

“It’s wrong. Whatever thing they need to do, they will do it earlier before the time for the clean up. And they will save themselves the embarrassment of being arrested and bringing into courts and they will begin to struggle.”

“It is not the best. They should change their way of behaviour and make it a habit of being the right.”

Sixty three (63) were arrested for violating the sanitation law while ten (10) were pardoned for various reasons hinged on health, underage and examination. Fifty three were prosecuted in line with the Abia State Basic Environmental Law.