By Crystabelle Isichei
Residents of Galadimawa, a suburb of Abuja, have lamented the poor waste evacuation in the area which leaves heaps of refuse littered and overflowing the waste bins.
The residents, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, said that the streets and gutters in the community were littered with garbage which attracted flies, mosquitoes, and other harmful pests.
Mr Joseph Odey, a resident of Galadimawa, said the situation was very bad, calling on the FCT administration to come to their aid.
“The streets are full of garbage and the gutters are overflowing with sewage; this is a serious health hazard,” he said.
Another resident, Mrs Ngozi Obi, said the refuse dumps emitted awful odour which constituted a nuisance to the community.
“We can’t open our windows because of the smell and we are afraid of letting our children out to play outside because of the pests and rodents,” she said.
According to her, the heaps of refuse dump in the community have become an eyesore, especially with the rains.
She added that decomposing waste was a threat to public health as it could become a breeding place for diseases.
Obi said the waste had covered part of the road thereby causing heavy traffic that sometimes led to accidents.
A member of the Galadimawa Residents Association, Mr Paul Udoette, said the community had organised several clean-up exercises in an attempt to address the problem, but the situation had remained largely unchanged.
He said the association had made several complaints to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) yet nothing had been done to evacuate the waste.
”We are calling on the FCT administration to do more to help solve the problem, he said.(NAN)
