No less than 20 residents have been apprehended by authorities of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State for indiscriminately disposing of waste at unapproved locations in parts of the state.
Mammoth clusters of waste have taken over parts of the state since Governor Nyesom Wike terminated the contract with all private waste contractors on 29 April 2022.
Areas like the ever-busy east/west road, Ada George, and Rumokwuta among others have been taken over by dirty since the termination.
However, the Obio/Akpor council Chairman, George Ariolu, on Monday said some persons were caught while on the evacuation exercise for flouting the waste disposal rule as provided by the state.
According to him, “We arrested over 20 persons around the Ada George area to the new flyover. That place was heaped with refuse; we were clearing till about 7.30 pm. By 8 pm, we saw people still coming out to dump refuse and they were arrested.
“They have receptacles very close by where they can gently go, bag their refuse and drop them and it will be easier for the evacuator to carry the refuse away to dump sites.
“But they will not; they will rather drop them at the median and be looking for who to blackmail, which is wrong.”
The council boss called for the cooperation of members of the public on waste management and disposal in the area.
Evacuators were also seen at the Rumuosi junction clearing a long trail of waste in the area.
