By Chris Ezeonoh
Residents of Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, are living in fear of an outbreak of an epidemic following heaps of refuse that litter the nooks and crannies of what was formerly known as ‘Garden City.’
When The Trumpet visited some major markets within the state capital where foodstuff and other consumables are sold, heaps of refuse were seen competing for space with where the traders keep their wares.
At the Town market in Borikiri, Port Harcourt Local Government Area, a foodstuff dealer, Mr. Martins Nduaguba, told The Trumpet that despite the toll they pay to the authorities of Port Harcourt City Local Government, the council could not provide commensurate services to keep the environment clean for the daily activities in the market.
“My brother this is where you see us. What can we do? It is the duty of government to provide a good environment for businesses and for life. A place where people buy what they eat is not supposed to be left in this condition,” he lamented.
A lady who came to the market to buy some food stuff expressed disgust at the general poor sanitary condition in the market and the state as a whole. She lamented that since Governor Wike declared intention to contest the presidential election in 2023, governance “took a flight” in the state.
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The lady advised people who come to buy things like fresh meat, fish, tomatoes, vegetables and other consumables to ensure proper washing and cooking to escape contacting some “deadly” infections.
Other places visited like the Old Aba Road, Rumuomasi, Rumuokoro, Oil Mill Market, Slaughter, etc, the story is the same as the city of Port Harcourt once prided as the “Garden City” of Nigeria is fast becoming the opposite with serious health implications. The general outrage the situation has provoked had attracted the attention of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
A chieftain of the party and former Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, in his usual blistering attacks on the Wike led administration, had urged the governor to abandon his pursuit of presidential ticket of PDP and return to Port Harcourt to fix up things.
Eze said Wike should “bundle himself back to Port Harcourt and concentrate on evacuating the humongous waste that now adorn major highways and streets in Port Harcourt, turning the once Garden City and pride of Nigeria to Garbage City.”
The ex-nPDP Spokesman feared that residents of Port Harcourt may be endangered species given the horrible environmental situation in the city which “in all honesty calls for a serious health emergency.”
He said “the mountainous heap of dirts and pollutants have fouled the air and turned the once serene city into a garbage city” and called on Wike to channel the energy he uses in displaying “crass ignorance and flamboyant idiocy” to clear the wastes that line up on major roads and streets.
The city once prided for her serenity and greenery has been reduced to a ground for waste disposal.” The situation may not have gotten this bad if the authorities saddled with the responsibility of waste disposal had been up to their game, The Trumpet gathered.
The Ministry of Environment in the state is currently without a serving commissioner. Since the last man who superintended over the ministry was sacked by Governor Wike, new one has not been appointed, Trumpet further gathered.
