Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) was established for the purpose of ensuring sanity in the Federal Capital Territory at all times.
HELEN OJI writes on the conduct of waste disposal offi cials in the satellite towns Erosion site The Abuja Environmental protection board (AEPB) was established for the purpose of achieving sustainable development in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in addition to securing cleaner environment that guarantees health, conserves and uses the environment and its natural resources for the benefi t of the Territory.
The agency was also to curtail the impact of physical development on the ecosystems of the Territory as well as to raise environmental health awareness and promote understanding of essential linkages between environment and development. Th e AEPB is structured with departments including one that is in charge of waste disposal which also includes information and outreach unit. Th e AEPB is designed and incorporated into the FCT Master Plan with varying organs and responsibilities, departments and agencies.
AEPB is solely supervisory. Th e agency is expected to be alert and on its toes to ensure refuse bins are collected and disposed off accordingly. So it does not shy away from intervening in areas where there are heaps of waste bins because of the potential health hazard for the citizens. To keep up with its mandate, the AEPB about a fortnight went to karu, Jikwoyi and karish axis, all satellite towns in the FCT, to evacuate the unpleasant heaps of refuse that almost overtook major roads in these satellite towns. Watching the agency carry out this assignment, it was obvious that they expended lots of resources to clear the unpleasant sites and ensure that residents breathe fresh and healthy air.
Th e exercise equally boosted sanitation in those areas. Sadly, officials of AEPB discovered that the main headache was not the refuse heaps but the attitude of the people who dumped refuse indiscriminately thereby constituting serious health hazards to themselves and others as well as makes the e n v i ro n m e n t u n h e a l t h y. Offi cials were embarrassed that residents’ attitude towards clean environment was negligible and promoted a status unbefi tting of the capital city. “Their attitude does not reflect well on the status of the FCT because they have constituted environmental hazards to the environment and the ecosystem,” an offi cial said soon after evacuating the heaps of refuse in the satellite towns. The Head of Information and Outreach Unit of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Mr. Muktar Ibrahim said: “it is actually the task of the area council in this case the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to ensure cleanliness in their area of jurisdiction. “But the council has not lived up to its responsibility in that regard and that is why the AEPB, which role is only supervisory to AMAC, has to step in to ensure that residents are not unnecessarily exposed to health hazard.
We have invited them for interface on issue of keeping the environment clean. We have pleaded with them to come up with a proper workable strategy that would ensure that this ugly situation does not continue,” he said stressing that AMAC as indeed other councils are yet to take up the matter of sanitation and health hazard seriously. “Th ere is actually an AEPB Act of 1997 that guides our operation on how people should dump their waste. But people are lackadaisical and we think it is largely attributed to ignorance and disregard for their health and the wellbeing of others. “ We h a v e o b s e r v e d stubbornness by some persons who think that so long as they don’t reside where they carelessly dumped refuse it does not matter.
Th ough there have been sanitation programmes meant to enlighten the people on the proper ways of managing waste, still many are unmindful as they continue to display uncaring attitude towards good sanitation and environmental health. “We know that has been awareness created was meant to ensure that waste should be collected and tied, placed by the road side not on the road so that it would be easier for the waste collectors to pick up the waste. But when the waste bins are dumped on the road their contents are easily blown away by breeze and it ends up littering everywhere in the environment with waste products.” he said. He dismissed complaints by residents that AMAC charges them exorbitantly noting that people should learn to take responsibilities that impact on their health and life.
“Th e residents claimed that (AMAC) charges them some levies for waste management but regretted that there is no statutory location in their areas where they can drop their waste for collection. And that even when they drop the waste in some designated places, they are not collected. There is a disconnection between the residents and the officials of AEPB,” he noted. Blueprint newspaper learnt that the broad has indicated interest to meet with the offi cials of the area council to harmonize a strategy and approach needed to salvage the situation, but the council has not responded. Ironically, the AEPB is always called upon whenever there are heaps of refuse on the roads, according to the director of Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olanipekun. “We have an act for this environmental abuse.
Th at is the sole responsibility of Abuja Environmental Monitoring Enforcement Unit to make sure that people don’t abuse the environment through irresponsible waste disposal. Some of the act of 1997 though needs to be upgraded or amended to make it practicable.” Recently, the Minister of FCT, constituted a Special Task Team that includes the director of AEPB, other agencies, and security agencies. The task force is meant to enforce compliance with the existing environmental laws. But beyond compliance and enforcement, there are sanitization programmes that complement eff orts to ensure sanitation and proper waste management. Government;s partnership with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is one of such eff orts and is meant to advance development on environmental issues. JICA has also partnered AEPB for 3 years now.
Recently JICA organized a forum at Life Camp to inform the people on the proper, practical and proactive and ways to manage waste. Th ey talked about integrated solid waste, which is a compressive waste management system that involves reduction of waste and re-use of waste, recycling of waste.
The JICA asserted that proper waste management h a b i t i s t o k e e p t h e environment more beautiful because God had created it to be beautiful and to last longer when we manage it properly. It reduces environmental hazard: whether climate, water ways and air pollution, which is another form of environmental degradation. When we adhere to the environment laws we reduce environmental hazards.
