Posted by By Isaac Olamikan on
Aids of Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha got a tongue lashing from him on Monday for what he termed their very dirty habits.
Aids of Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha got a tongue lashing from him on Monday for what he termed their very dirty habits.
Chief Alamieyeseigha accused the obviously shocked aides of showing total lack of respect for the cleanliness of their living environment.
He expressed a displeasure at the habit of some of the aides who despite their appreciable pay packets and other financial incentives have never felt the need to keep their environment neat at all times.
He threatened to deal with any of them that fails to abide by the rules of keeping his surroundings free of filth.
And to add bite to his the threat, he has vowed to enact the necessary laws to back up his fight against the neglect of the environment.
Chief Alamieyeseigha was speaking on the occasion of the World Environment Day lecture 2005 held at the Women Affairs Auditorium, Yenagoa.
Speaking earlier on the theme: "The Environmental Planning in the Niger Delta, the way forward for Bayelsa State," the guest lecture, Dr. W.A.I Izonfuo, the acting Dean of the Faculty of Science at the Niger Delta University (NDU), listed some environmental issues confronting the Niger Delta area viz:
Surface and underground water contamination; industrial pollution; oil pollution from tankers and pipelines pollution of agricultural soils, surface and underground waters.
coastal erosion; domestic and industrial waters disposal; water hyacinth;
deforestation via the cutting of survey and seismic lines during oil exploration and exploitation; flooding and noise pollution etc.
He said that in many Nigerian cities, there seems to be waste Dispersal Authority. He stressed that a proper waste disposal must begin with proper collection followed by proper evacuation and proper disposal.
"The types and quantities of wastes generated depend upon the level of development of a people. Modern warfare is no longer fought with dare guns, stones, or bows and arrows but with computer guided precision missiles. Our domestic wastes management strategies must therefore match the requirements of today which are the efficient and proper disposal of domestic wastes," he asserted.
He advised the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment to establish sanitary landfills for the proper disposal of all wastes in the state.
On the way forward for the state, Dr. Izonfuo called on the Environment Ministry to organize a stakeholders workshop in which the oil companies, private and government organizations, the local government, representatives of labour and civil societies and community leaders partake and discuss issues he listed earlier to enable a blue print to be drawn up for an Environmental Action Plan for the state.
He also advised that since the Ministry is a regulatory body, its hand must be strengthened with appropriate legislature where it does not exist to enable it enforce state environmental guidelines.