• Don’t politicise soot challenge, gov appeals to campaigners

Tony John, Port Harcourt

Rivers State Government has announced that 34 projects will be ready for commissioning, during the third anniversary of the Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration.

This was one of the resolutions of the State Executive Council meeting, yesterday, presided over by Wike.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, said the 34 projects are in their final stages of completion.

He said a state executive council committee has been set up for the disbursement of the monthly N200 million interest-free loans, set aside for traders and young entrepreneurs.

The state executive council urged interested traders and youths to take advantage of the loan facility, to boost their businesses.

Also, the state executive council was briefed on the completion of the fencing of Bishop Okoye Street, to keep street traders away from the road.

Okah said following the expiration of the grace period, the full implementation of the ban on street trading in Port Harcourt would commence.

He said the state executive council’s task force would carry out the implementation of the ban on street trading.

Meanwhile, Wike has warned against the politicisation of the soot menace facing the state, saying the Federal Government must be prevailed upon to stop the challenge. 

Addressing a ‘stop the soot’ protest march to Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Wike said at the base of the soot are the federal government agencies, who, he alleged, take action that destroy the Rivers environment. 

Represented by his deputy, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Wike said nobody is immune to the health hazards created by the soot.

He said: “The environment cannot be politicised; nobody is immune to the soot. The environmental issues are directly under the federal government. 

“The federal government owns the refineries which have been emitting the gases into the atmosphere. The federal government, also, owns the security agencies, which have been using uncivilised methods to stop bunkering and illegal refineries.”

The governor said the state government will always cooperate with the federal government, to see that matters concerning the environment are taken seriously. 

“We want to assure you that we are looking into the requests. The government will act on them.”

He advised operators of illegal refineries to desist from the  dangerous act, which, he said, is one of the major pollutants in the state. 

Earlier, leader of the ‘Stop the soot campaign’, Mr. Tunde Bello, said the campaign is a non-political initiative, aimed at drawing attention to the air pollution caused by soot.

The group placed a 14-point demand on the Rivers state government where they expect action.

The campaigners, among other things, called on the state government to prioritise the environment, propose a supplementary budget, conduct an environmental audit of host and oil producing communities, force local government areas to implement sanitation laws, and make local government areas use their security votes to provide local government monitors and whistle blowers.

-Sun