Tensions have emerged between the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in Ebonyi State and social media personality Echefo Williams regarding waste management and cleanliness in Abakaliki. Williams alleged on Facebook that Commissioner for Environment Victor Chukwu was shifting blame for poor sanitation onto contractors. He specifically suggested that the state APC executive, under Chairman Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, holds the waste evacuation contracts, creating issues of political patronage.
Responding to these claims, Polycarp Obinna Alegu, a media aide to the APC state chairman, labeled the accusations as inaccurate. He clarified that the ministry oversees 18 sanitation zones, each assigned to local contractors who hire their own laborers and drivers. According to Alegu, these contractors are paid monthly by the state and are solely responsible for refuse removal.
Alegu further noted that the Ministry of Environment employs over 80 youth supervisors to monitor these contractors and utilizes environmental marshals to enforce sanitation laws. He emphasized that the APC executive body lacks any formal role in waste management and instead focuses on offering advisory support. The official asserted that Governor Francis Nwifuru continues to provide adequate funding for these services, while the commissioner regularly penalizes non-performing contractors.
The administration also called on the public to take accountability for their habits, pointing out that many residents contribute to the problem by disposing of trash on roadsides and in drainage systems. Alegu concluded that maintaining a clean city is a collaborative effort between the government and its citizens, noting that waste generation is a constant process that cannot be entirely eradicated.
