Rivers State Waste Management Agency Managing Director, Dr Ibimina Wokoma, led a top management team to Police Headquarters on Moscow Road on Monday, September 14, 2026 to secure firm backing from the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju in the fight against indiscriminate refuse dumping.
The high-level meeting focused on joint enforcement and public enlightenment to restore Port Harcourt’s “Garden City” image and curb roadside littering, blocked drains and illegal dumps in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor.
Wokoma said the agency has engaged traditional rulers, youths and community leaders since the current board took office, urging residents to bag waste properly and abandon the habit of dumping under flyovers, on medians and in drainage channels.
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“We cannot clean this city alone,” the managing director declared. “We need the police firmly on our side.”
He noted that the Police Community Relations Committee has already pledged full support for RIWAMA’s sensitisation drives.
Adepoju responded with a clear commitment. Indiscriminate dumping, he said, is not just an environmental offence — it is a public health and security threat. A cleaner city, he stressed, helps prevent crime.
The commissioner promised to deploy officers to back RIWAMA task-force operations and ensure offenders face prosecution. He insisted, however, that enforcement must be matched by massive public education.
“Enforcement alone cannot solve it. We must enlighten our people,” Adepoju said. “Use traditional institutions, churches, mosques, markets, schools and the media. When people understand the ‘why’, compliance becomes easier.”
Both sides agreed to form a joint enforcement and enlightenment committee that will roll out a coordinated campaign against illegal waste disposal in the weeks ahead.
