The Edo State Government has intensified its campaign for a cleaner and healthier state with the recruitment of 500 additional environmental workers.
The Managing Director of the Edo State Waste Management Board, EWMB, Dr Lucky Enehita-Inegbenehi, announced this on Wednesday while briefing journalists in Benin City.
According to him, the new personnel have already been distributed across all 18 local government areas to strengthen the existing sanitation workforce and ensure no part of the state is left out in the ongoing cleanup exercise.
Dr Enehita-Inegbenehi explained that the recruitment is just one part of a broader reform. He revealed that the Board has also invested in heavy-duty machinery to modernize waste collection and disposal. The newly acquired fleet includes bulldozers, payloaders, tippers and compactor trucks.
He said the interventions were carried out under two major initiatives launched by the Board: ‘Operation Free Edo’ and ‘Operation Clean Edo North’.
Under Operation Free Edo, the board focused on clearing long-standing illegal dumpsites and accumulated waste heaps that had defaced several communities for years. Operation Clean Edo North was a targeted exercise to address sanitation challenges peculiar to the Edo North Senatorial District.
The EWMB boss admitted that poor management of dumpsites had been a persistent setback in the past. He however stated that the administration has expanded the capacity of existing landfill sites and instituted a regular maintenance schedule. He noted that with functional dumpsites now available in all 18 LGAs, evacuation of waste has become faster and more coordinated.
To enforce compliance, the Board has also commenced ‘Operation Show Your Receipt’. Enehita-Inegbenehi said enforcement teams now conduct house-to-house inspections to confirm that households and businesses are registered with government-accredited waste collectors and are disposing of their refuse properly.
He issued a stern warning that all domestic and commercial waste must be channeled through only approved service providers, adding that anyone caught dumping waste illegally or patronizing unaccredited collectors will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
In a related development, the Managing Director of the Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency, Mr Stanley Ighodaro, disclosed that his agency is complementing the cleanup efforts with a greening programme.
Ighodaro said the agency is distributing and planting economic and ornamental trees free of charge to residents as part of measures to restore the ecological balance and beautify the environment.
He added that a comprehensive beautification master plan has been drawn up for Edo South, with strategic tree planting scheduled for major roads, medians and public spaces within the city centre.
He cautioned residents against vandalizing or deliberately cutting down trees planted by the government, warning that offenders will face severe sanctions when caught.
