State Assembly raises alarm over mountains of refuse, waste in Calabar 

The leadership of the Cross River State House of Assembly has decried the very poor level of Calabar metropolis over the mountains of waste across the city.

The lawmakers expressed worry that waste has a direct impact on the health of citizens and that the unhygienic state of Calabar was harmful and inimical to the health of citizens.

In the last five months, there has been a public outcry over the non-evacuation of refuse from the city. Major streets have been completely blocked by refuse as a result.

Those in charge have complained of a lack of evacuation trucks and diesel to power the available ones while wastes contractors themselves continue to lament non-payment.

The State Assembly has now summoned the Commissioner for Environment, the General Manager of the Wastes Management Agency as well as the Executive Secretary, Calabar Urban Development Agency (CUDA) to offer a public explanation on the situation.

They have also invited the Chairmen of Calabar Municipality and Calabar South LGA as well as contractors in charge of refuse disposal in the state capital.

A member representing Abi state constituency, Davies Eta had raised a matter of urgent public interest, lamenting that the city of Calabar which was widely acclaimed for its cleanliness is now very dirty and dotted with refuse heaps.

Other lawmakers also decried the current unhygienic situation in Calabar Metropolis and called for urgent steps to be taken to remedy the situation to prevent a possible outbreak of disease.

In another development, they have also decried dilapidated educational infrastructure in the state and called on the state government to carry out remedial roofing work on the signature building of the Institution of Technology and Management (ITM) Ugep which was damaged by a windstorm in 2021.

The Lawmakers further directed its Committee on Education to liaise with the Education Ministry to ensure speedy completion of the renovation work.

A member representing Yakurr 1 state constituency, Nelson Ofem lamented that the building was in a terrible state and a risk to the well-being of both Staff and Students of the Institution.

“The signature building is in a very terrible situation, the School is in a sordid state. The Government through the Ministry of Education should urgently carry out remedial repairs on the building, it is dangerous for the students and Staff”, he said.

Ofem recalled that the ITM was established in 2013 to provide Cross River Students with a unique opportunity to study in a conducive environment in line with global standards.

Other Lawmakers, in their separate contributions, recalled that over N1.5b was spent on the construction of the building and described its present state as heartbreaking.