From Nwogha Ndubuisi, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State government has banned indiscriminate dumping of refuse, stating that defaulters would pay a fine of N50,000 or face outright prosecution by the State Environmental Sanitation Court.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued in Abakaliki by the Head of Public Relations, Ministry of Environment, Reuben Okorie.
The statement urged residents of the capital city to ensure that they properly bag their waste and dispose of it between the hours of 5am and 8pm at the ministry’s approved dump sites and waste bins.
It reiterated government’s commitment to keep the capital city clean and green regularly, emphasising the ministry’s efforts to maintain environmental cleanliness and safety of citizens.
The state government directed that waste generated by residents from their compounds, business premises, schools, churches, hotels, eateries and other public places should be dropped at the ministry’s approved dumpsites only, between 5am and 8pm daily.
It added that to ensure total compliance to this directive, any person caught dropping waste indiscriminately and at unapproved places would be arrested by environmental marshals and made to pay a fine of N50,000 or face outright prosecution by the State Environmental Sanitation Court.
