BY UZOMA OGOKE
The Eastern Waste Management Company limited has taken the bull by the horn in its quest to bequeath Environmental cleanliness to Imo State, as never witnessed in the annals of the state or any other state in Nigeria.
C- Advocate recalls that the Imo State Government and Eastern Waste Management Company Limited, a German firm, recently signed a pact on how to achieve a clean, hygienic and environmentally-friendly State, through proper waste gathering and recycling.
Beyond achieving a clean, hygienic and environmentally-friendly condition in Imo State, the company has also committed to creating employment opportunities within the ecosystem.
To achieve this, the Imo State Government and the Company’s management signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to seal the deal in the presence of Governor Hope Uzodimma, the Imo State Governor, at Government House, Owerri.
Signing the pact, Chief Cosmos Iwu, Secretary to the Imo State Government, and Major Emenike, the state’s Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, represented the Imo State Government, while Cyril Njoku and Agbi Isimeme, Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director respectively of the company, represented the firm.
Earlier, Governor Uzodimma had said that his Government had decided to enter into the agreement with the Company, “to ensure Imo people enjoy clean and hygienic environment, relying on the past performance of the company in other states and even the pilot performance it carried out in some parts of the state recently.”
Meanwhile, Gerald Njoku, a reverend father and leader of the team, stated that the Eastern Waste Management Company Limited has tested and trusted capacity in waste gathering and recycling, as well as expertise in the areas of clean environment and ecosystem management.
Njoku added that the activities of the firm in Imo State would be broad-based because “they will bring in equipment that will burn and recycle waste, using incinerators.
“Their activities will, in addition, create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths who will be engaged in the various areas of the company’s project”, he said
Ever since the signing of the MoU, there have been impressive signs that the company is fully committed to realizing every bit of the promises it has made Imo people , even as it has hit the ground running and made appreciable progress in the waste disposal and environmental cleanliness of the state.
All observant and well meaning Imo people have expressed their appreciation for what the company has been able to do within the short time it took over the waste management of the state, in partnership with the Imo State Government, through the Ministry of Environment and Sanitation.
What Imo people are pleading with the state government and the company is to sustain the existing tempo and continuously improve upon it. They demand that both parties should respect the MoU they signed, work harmoniously to realize promises they made, including sustained Environmental cleanliness, recycling of waste and massive employment for teeming Imo youths.