Otti Embarks on Emergency Refuse Disposal in Aba

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo

The Governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti, has embarked on emergency task of evacuating the huge refuse dumps on the streets of Aba and Umuahia immediately after assuming duties as the state’s new chief executive.

The emergency refuse disposal began barely 24 hours after the governor had set up a taskforce for emergency cleanup of Aba and Umuahia.

Otti defied the heavy downpour and joined the task force in evacuating the mountainous refuse dump on Asa Road, Aba.

As people caught sight of the governor walking in the rain as he monitored the refuse disposal exercise, road users and traders around the vicinity who had been contending with the mountainous refuse and the oozing stench, got attracted to the scene.

The new governor had in his inaugural address on Monday declared a state of emergency on the evacuation of wastes in the streets of Umuahia, the state’s capital and Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state.

Otti appointed Mr. Ogbonnia Okereke as the Head of Task Force and saddled him with the responsibility of implementing the emergency refuse disposal emergency.

The governor acknowledged the efforts of “those working pro-bono to ensure that our towns are clean, and all who braved the rain to give effect to the directive we gave two days ago declaring an emergency on the cleanup of Aba and Umuahia.”

As Otti climbed onto the driver’s seat of a pay-loader used in clearing the wastes and tried his hands on the steering, a crowd of traders and passers-by were attracted to the scene and cheered him in admiration.

He also picked a shovel and joined in scooping wastes as a demonstration of his determination to ensure a sustainable cleanliness of towns and cities in Abia State.