Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf has approved the Emergency Refuse Evacuation Plan for immediate clearing of refuse heaps on the streets of Kano metropolis.
The Governor, who is concerned over the implications of garbage littering roads, said lackadaisical attitude of the immediate past administration towards environmental hygiene may cause the State unimaginable losses, resulting from flooding in the rainy season if major drainages blocked by garbage are not desilted immediately.
In a statement signed by press secretary to the governor Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the governor described as unfortunate, the outright leased of the critical assets of the State’s Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) under a dubious Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, making it difficult to achieve effective solid waste management.
”They have sold all the critical assets including trucks belonging to REMASAB, We have no option than to hire tippers and other equipment to quickly clear the dumps from the streets in a bid to restore efficient environmental sanitation in Kano.
”We have identified major refuse dumping sites in the city and therefore categorized them into five zones for efficient and effective evacuation that will start soon, the operation will be carried out day and night until everything in Kano is cleaned up,” the Governor said.
Governor Abba urged the residents of Kano to cooperate with the officials who will carry out the refuse evacuation exercise in the coming days in order to avert flooding, pollution and health hazards associated with the poor environmental hygiene.
Recall that the Governor has approved Operation Nazafa, a Task Force on Refuse Disposal, Evacuation of Drainages and Streets Cleaning composed of different stakeholder groups in the State.
Confidence Okwuchi
