A cross section of residents of Gwagwa, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Thursday called on the nation’s capital administration to provide waste bins and safe disposal infrastructure to reduce environmental pollution.
They made the call when officials of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources visited the community for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Assessment, Sensitisation and Response in Abuja.
The intervention is sequel to reported cases of deaths from cholera in many communities, cited from the weekly Situation Report (SITREP) from the FCT Primary Health Care Development Board.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), quoting the SITREP within the last one month, noted that no fewer than 72 persons died from confirmed cases of cholera within the six area councils of the FCT.
A resident, Mrs Adama Abubakar, said no fewer than 10 persons died from confirmed cases of cholera in the community, saying there was need for revival of sanitary inspectors to promote hygiene in the community.
According to her, the community members had low access to potable water, thereby relying on the consumption of water from unwholesome sources.
“We are calling on the FCT administration and AMAC chairman to come to our aid, most people rely on the water from River Gwagwa for their daily use.
“Our children often fall sick, now that some people have died from cholera, we are calling for help.
“We also want the authorities to bring waste collection bins and points as a way of reducing indiscriminate dumping of wastes in parts of the community,’’ she said.
Abubakar also called for sanctions for those defecating publicly, adding that AMAC officials should intensify efforts at creating awareness on the dangers of dumping wastes indiscriminately.
Another resident, Hannatu Usman, said door-to-door waste collection for a small fee would help hygiene promotion mechanisms in the community.
She said, “my family usually gathers refuse in a nylon bag and dump by the road side, there is no known point for dumping refuse, we are used to it.
“It is sad that this is our only means of disposing our wastes, we will like more awareness on what to do to improve and protect our community,” the resident said.
NAN reports that Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, had frowned at the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the littering of streets, roads and waterways with garbage in the nation’s capital.
She noted that the FCT was faced with the challenges of waste management owing to frequency of household waste collections and the limited collection coverage.
She said the Satellite Town Development Department engaged cleaning contractors who employed litter control staff to clean the streets in the satellite towns.
This, she noted, were part of measures to curb some of the solid waste management issues experienced in the nation’s capital.
The minister said the FCT administration spent about N8 billion annually on waste management in the Federal Capital City (FCC) and the satellite towns.
According to her, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) spent an average of N6 billion, while the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) expended N2 billion on waste management annually.
Aliyu said that government spent a total sum of N8 billion annually to pay over 64 cleaning contractors engaged in the management of waste in the nation’s capital.
She called on communities to adopt sustainable waste management practices, “which include sorting at source and composting of organic waste for horticultural/agricultural purposes, amongst others.” (NAN)
