Delta State Waste Management Board to Collaborate With CEPEJ to Evacuate Refuse Dump in Ijakpa .....

Delta State Waste Management Board to Collaborate With CEPEJ to Evacuate Refuse Dump in Ijakpa Community, Uvwie LGA.

Hon. Emmanuel B. Chinye, Chairman, Delta State Waste Management Board, is ready to evacuate the long heap of refuse that is located at Ijakpa Community in Uvwie Local Government Area, which

has been causing serious health and environmental hazard and pollution to the people dwelling in the community.

This readiness by the Board was as a result of CEPEJ continues engagement of relevant stakeholders that lead to a courtesy visit by a team from the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice – CEPEJ, in his Office at Asaba on Tuesday February 18, 2020, to address the issue of the site, health and the environmental implication of the refuse dump in the community which has been there for decades.

Part of CEPEJ's vision and mission is to ensure cleaner and sustainable environment with the best practices across the State, Nigeria, and the entire globe; and Ijakpa community should not be an exception.

While addressing the issue, Hon. Chinye promised to send a team from his Office between Wednesday to Friday in the third week of February 2020 to access and ascertain the present situation on the site in order to make adequate preparations for the evacuation. The team will be headed by Mr. Mike, Director of the Board, who was also part of the meeting.

He said, “I will send a team from my Office to ascertain the present situation of the site based on the update CEPEJ has given regarding the site. The Director of the Office will lead the team and CEPEJ will join the Board team to give proper direction of the site especially on the access road leading to the site because that was why the evacuation has not been done, due to report given by the staff that were sent to the site initially, that there were no access road. But with your description, we can access it by road.”

Earlier, CEPEJ team narrated how they discovered the dump site, that it was on a school visitation programme tagged 'Catch Them Young' which was done last year were the staff from the Office visited schools to sensitized students to shun violence, cultism, hard drugs, corruption and other vices. Ijakpa Primary School was one of them, and then the dump site was discovered.

Other efforts by CEPEJ initialed to the State Government is to build and relocate the school and children to a new site has been responded to by Delta State Government and individuals who are handling the project, but the dump site has not been adequately managed, hence the visit to the Waste Management Board.

Speaking further on the issue, Hon Chinye said, “evacuation of the refuse from site is not a problem, we will do the job; it is part of Waste Management responsibility so it will be done. As long as we can get access to the site, it will be done.”

He also commended CEPEJ for the steps taken to ensure a cleaner, safer, and healthy environment for all.

On the issue of collaboration, he also said, “with this that I have seen from your NGO, it shows that you people are different, therefore the board is ready to work with CEPEJ for the good of the environment. So, Delta State Waste Management Board is ready to collaborate and partner with CEPEJ.”

He further suggested that if there are similar ones noticed by the NGO, CEPEJ should not hesitate to draw the attention of the Board.

The Director of the Board, Mr. Mike, thanked CEPEJ for its giant stride and persistence in actualizing it visions and goals by not giving up.

He said, “Keep the spirit and ensure cleaner environment and you will always achieve the best.”

The visit was marked with the presentation of CEPEJ Newsletters, 2020 Calendars, and a collaboration letter by CEPEJ delegation comprise of Mrs. Tina Agidi, Corporate Manager, Admin and Finance; Mr. Samuel Ideh, Program Manager; Mr. Daniel S. Tonfawei, Communication and Networking Officer; and Doubra Patrick Boidifigha, Program Officer, Environment.