Nigeria (Edo): The Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Arc, wants to make Edo state the best place to live and do business by 2030.
Joshua Omokhodion has set out in the company of environmental stakeholders in collaboration with local government councils’ chairmen to interface and engage with residents and business owners in Edo State on environmental sanitation and waste management.
In his words, “I’m representing the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and today marks the beginning of a new dawn in Edo State in terms of keeping the State clean. We are starting from the City centre with mass evacuation of waste and orientation of residents and business owners on how and why they should keep our State clean.”
According to him the exercise which focuses on Oredo as a pilot scheme, will be replicated in other local government areas across the State, adding that the heartbeat of Nigeria is Edo State, while the heartbeat of Edo is Oredo which is the City center.
Arc. Omokhodion emphasized that the theme, “Edo must be clean” is a matching order from Governor Obaseki and it is not going to be abandoned, but that there would be improvement on a daily basis because the Governor has done well in the provision of infrastructures and human capital development.
The chairman of Oredo Local Government Council, Dr Tom Obaseki, encouraged residents in the State to imbibe the culture of proper waste disposal and to desist from the habit of illegal street trading in open spaces around the City and King’s Square in particular.
He emphasized that King’s Square is the City centre and should not be turned into a trading ground.
He appealed to residents in the State to turn a new leave of cleaning their environment on a daily basis. Areas visited were the King’s Square, Ibiwe, Forestry, Sokponba, Mission, Airport Roads, Igun Street and environs.
Environmental Health officers, the Taskforce on Environment, Staff of the Edo State Waste Management Board, PUWOV, and Staff of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability attended the sensitization tour.