Abia State has witnessed increased arrests of environmental sanitation exercise defaulters, as it recorded 95 last Saturday.
This is even as the government has declared a state of emergency on sanitation and reintroduced sanitary inspectors across the state.
Speaking to newsmen after the exercise in Umuahia, the state capital, the commissioner for the Environment, PhilmoneOgbonna, condemned the defaulters’ attitude.
Represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, IkechukwuOriuwa, he warned some security agencies against diverting and extorting money from such offenders.
He commended soldiers from the 145 Battalion of the Nigerian Army for participating in the exercise and enjoined other security agencies to emulate them.
Contributing, the senior special assistant to the governor on Environment, Ijeoma Iheukwumere, frowned at the agencies’ attitude and urged them to desist forthwith.
She said, “The government will no longer overlook these actions as they frustrate its effort to improve the state’s environmental cleanliness.
She urged the state’s residents to support and partner with the government to ensure the success of the campaign against filthiness in every nook and cranny.
