Worried by the danger posed to their environment by the unsolved problem of industrial waste, the Kano riverine communities have called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency intervene and address the problem with immediate effect.
Addressing a press conference in Kano Tuesday, spokesman of the communities, Dr. Baba Sani Wudil said since the year 2006 to date, the federal government was aware of the issue of contamination of Wudil River and many other communities.
According to him, the position known to the communities over the years was the effort of a German group that had planned to build a plant through a local Company in order to tackle the problem with support from federal government.
He said: “We have been shocked at the news that the Ecological Fund Office has decided to deal with unknown contractor in building waste treatment plant for Kano state.
“This unfortunate development is unacceptable. our group has decided not to abandon our rights, but to fight for what we feel should come to Kano State especially after the huge support given to the project by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Kano emir” he remarked.
“We are hereby appealing to the Federal Government to ensure that the right thing is done. this would also send signal to public officials to sit up and serve the interest of the public rather than take unpopular decisions against the interest of Nigerians” he stressed.
“It is our opinion that the contract should be awarded to the most qualified company Dutch Africa which made all the research and development required to design the best and most efficient method of cleaning the environment and toxic effluent which has been affecting the lives of families, animals and farms” he concluded
