Heaps of refuse have taken over some streets and major roads in Umuahia, the Abia capital, reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
NAN reports that a similar scenario prevailed in the city in January, during which unknown persons began to burn the refuse openly on the streets.
A NAN correspondent, who monitored the situation within the metropolis on Tuesday, reports that receptacles placed at strategic locations were filled and overflowing with domestic waste.
The unsightly spots adorn the popular Umuwaya Road, Aba Road, Ugwunchara Area, Health Centre Road, Upstairs Line (World Bank Housing Estate) and School for the Blind (Low cost Housing Estate).
The other streets that were also littered with refuse, included Adelabu Str., Niger Road/St. Stephens Anglican Church, Bende Road/Ugba Primary School and St. Finbarr’s Road/Eze Akomas Str.
The situation was also the same at the Umuahia Township Stadium/Ministry of Environmental as well as Ubakala/Okigwe Road Junction, among others.
NAN reports that the refuse, which were at decomposing stages, also spilled into the road, constituting an eye-sore and also obstructing free-flow of traffic.
Some residents expressed deep fear that the situation could lead to an outbreak of epidemic, if left unchecked.
In separate interviews with NAN, Stephen Okorie, Johnson Nwaigwe and Maria Orji, decried the situation, and urged the state government to evolve a sustainable refuse disposal strategy.
They said that the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) had failed in the discharge of its responsibility.
They said that the refuse situation in the capital city began to deterriorate last year but expressed regrets that the government was yet to find a lasting solutions to the phenomenon.
“The situation became disturbing last year and residents resorted to self-help by occasionally setting the refuse on fire,” Orji.
Okorie, a public affairs analyst, said that the refuse situation in Abia “has gone beyond ASEPA”, saying, “It requires urgent intervention by Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu.”
NAN recalls that Ikpeazu and the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Eme Okoro, intervened and personnaly supervised the evacuation of refuse that littered different parts of the city in 2016.
Attempts made to get the reaction of the Public Relations Officer of ASEPA, Delvin Chioma, were unsuccessful, but a senior official of the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, blamed the refuse situation in Umuahia on inadequate logistics.
“We have very limited number of trucks and refuse disposal workers hence the situation has continued to deterriorate,” the official said.
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