The Edo State Waste Management Board has cleared a perennial refuse dump site at Ibiwe, in Benin City, Oredo Local Government Area of the State.

The General Manager, Edo State Waste Management Board, Mr. Charles Imariagbe, who addressed journalists during the evacuation exercise, said the exercise was carried out as part of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s agenda to promote a clean and healthy environment in the state.

He said, “In line with the mandate of the Governor, we are here to clean up the area. One of the steps in this regard is to clean up the metropolis. We are putting measures in place to make sure it is sustainable.

“For up to a decade, we have had huge piles of accumulated refuse as these people have not been taking care of their environment. Some years ago, the state government came to clean up this area and it has been messed up again. We are putting in all efforts to ensure that there will be no recurrence.”

The General Manager noted that the evacuation is a joint action of the relevant government agencies and stakeholders, adding, “Not only do we have the state government cleaning up the area, but we also have the local government here going from house to house sensitizing the people, scrutinizing their waste management practices in this area to make sure they are registered with the accredited waste managers in this locality. This is to make sure they have proper conveniences and where they don’t have these facilities, they are either given a deadline to go get them in place or given notices accordingly.

“We are also working with all stakeholders in the community such as the Enogie, landlord association, and others. We’ve had a series of engagements with them and they have taken the responsibility to secure the area after the cleanup to make sure it doesn’t roll back anymore.”

He added, “They’ve also identified the culprits and assured us that they will set up a mini-sanitation committee to make sure the place doesn’t go bad anymore. We have just started this whole process and will continue in this momentum in this area and other localities having similar challenges.”

Mary Imafidon, a landlady in the area, expressed appreciation to the state government for coming to their aid, adding, “This place has been giving us sleepless nights. I have been trying to clean the area and the drainages to the best of my abilities, but what was required is more hands and the willpower to ensure that this does not reoccur.”