The Director General of Eneka Today, Mr. Maxwell Onuma, has called for the immediate evacuation of refuse dumped beside the Eneka Community Health Center, in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Onuma also demanded a stop to refuse disposal at the area, describing it as a threat to the health of mothers, babies and other patients in the health center.
He also called on the Rivers State government to provide an alternative dump site for residents, to avert indiscriminate waste disposal.
The DG Eneka Today expressed worry over the implication of the action on the health of patients and those living and doing businesses within the area.
Onuma spoke with TPCN in an interview on Saturday, March 14, 2026, when our correspondent visited the place.
Condemning the act by shop owners and residents, he said, “this is condemnable, it is not good and we call for immediate evacuation. It is quite unfortunate that government of Rivers State have not provided designated dump site for Eneka Community, there is none.
“Sometime ago, last year, they started dumping refuse opposite my office at the state primary school and we raised concern, alot of concern through various channels to get government attention.
“We had to get to the CDC of that time; Mr Chima Wosu, because they didn’t want people to dump refuse at the civic center but somehow we contacted the local government sanitation authority and they came.
“We told them that the health of the students are already endangered, children can’t be learning in such environment, so considering the life of the students, they stopped it but there was no alternative dump site.
“You know human beings will always want to use an open space to dump refuse which begins with a drop of refuse, gradually. So if a health center which is supposed to catter for the health of community people and those outside the community allow people to begin to dump refuse, it’s disheartening, something has to be done about it.”
According to the DG, the Eneka health center is “where people that are ill come for treatment which their immune system are not strong, they could easily contact air borne disease, malaria through mosquito bites.
“This is not encouraging at all. This act must be discouraged through the government institution which is the health center. The health center should write, then the Eneka Town Council through the sanitation committee should bring this act to stop.”
Onuma further called on authority of the day, both the local government and the community authority to should find a way to stop the practice.
“The local government can work with the community government. The local government has agency that works for them as sanitation committee, they can engage the community committee on sanitation to provide a designated area outside the health facility.
“Another thing again, not just providing alternative waste dump site but government should also be quick to evacuate refuse wherever it is been designated, so, it also falls on the state government to do that but it begins with getting a dump site.”
