Kelechi Kas
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said that his government owes the people of Rivers State the duty of tackling the soot menace.
The governor said while inaugurating the Technical Committee for the implementation of the Recommendations of the Rivers State Government Report on Soot that his Administration is committed to addressing the environmental and health issues raised by the presence of soot.
He also directed the State Head of Service to invite the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Police to participate in the implementation committee.
He said: “I have told the chairman of the Technical Committee to ensure that everybody gets the report for the committee to quickly act for us to see positive changes.
“As a Government, we owe our people the duty to tackle soot in Rivers State “.
Wike explained that contrary to the claims by some members of the society, his administration has been working on modalities to tackle soot.
He said that the investigative committee worked for five months to discover the causes of the prevalence of soot.
“So many people have complained that the State Government is not doing something to reduce the soot. This is not true.
“We have studied the situation. It took not less than five months to identify the causes. This implementation committee is made up of environmental experts/scientists, environmental lawyers, doctors, civil society , oil majors and security services. This is a fundamental move to address the soot crisis.
“As a Government, we are concerned and we will do everything to ensure that it is resolved.
“This soot does not know the Governor. It does not know a poor man or rich man. It affects everyone. Right here in Government House, I see it everywhere”, he said.
