In an effort to consolidate on its clean environment drive, Abia State Government on Saturday declared that the long awaited sanitary inspectors that would provide effective sanitary supervision in the 17 Local Government Areas of the state will soon be launched.
The State Commissioner Environment, Mr Philemon Ogbonna who disclosed this in Umuahia while monitoring the state’s cleanup exercise in the capital city, said the inspectors will be deployed to communities and LGAs of the state to ensure that the people comply with the basic sanitary standards.
According to the Environment Commissioner, the outfit will be launched in June 2025, stressing that unlike before, all stakeholders in the environment sub sector such as Mayors of various LGAs, traditional rulers and town unions will be involved in its operations.
“We’re recording huge success in environmental sanitation; however, our success would be full by the time the sanitary inspectors begin operation. We want to launch it as an event where everyone would be involved.
“The sanitary inspectors will go from house to house to ensure that the neighbourhood is tide so that hideous incidents that may cause health hazards are not allowed to rear their ugly heads in our communities.
Speaking also, the chairman, Committee on Environment at the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Kalu Mba Nwoke described today’s exercise as impressive, observing that the level of compliance was high unlike other sanitation days.
“All the places we visited, we saw people scooping the drainages and carting away the debris. I can attribute that to the sparkling performance of the present government under two years in the saddle that made the people troop en masse to show solidarity to it. I moved around myself and I saw the high level of compliance.
“I want to advise them to do more. We’re not interested in arresting them to pay a fine; what is important is for them to maintain a clean environment and live a healthy lifestyle; nothing more”, he insisted.
In her comment, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Environment, Professor Ijeoma Iheukwumere, said Abia is moving forward in environmental sanitation project, adding “from the look of things, the New Abia mantra of His Excellency, Governor Alex Otti’s administration, has indeed been embraced wholly by the people.
