N30million monthly for refuse disposal is unacceptable, be ready to pay for your refuse – Ajimobi

By; Bayo Akamo, Ibadan.
Governor Abiola Ajimobi has asked the people of Oyo State to be ready to pay for the refuse being generated daily across the state, saying no more spending of tax payers’ N30million monthly for refuse disposal.
The governor stated this during  a meeting with refuse collectors, local government chairmen, environmental sanitation officers and management of West African Energy, a waste-to-wealth contracting firm, at the House of Chiefs, Ibadan.
He declared that the policy shift was as a result of his observation that the state was gradually returning to the old order when it was adjudged one of the dirtiest state capitals in the country and that the development aimed at sustaining the environmental cleanliness credentials of his administration and to ensure employment generation and wealth creation.
“We have decided to change our approach and start generating money from refuse. We will no longer spend N30 million monthly on refuse disposal. We believe this had encouraged the culture of impunity on refuse disposal,” he said.
The governor added,“our people should now be prepared to play a part in refuse management by paying for refuse being generated as being done in other climes. Not only are we going to make money from it, we will generate employment and create wealth for the people.”
“We are here because we are not happy with the state of our environment. We feel appalled by the condition of our environment and it’s now that we will have to act.
 
“We enforced a zero tolerance against filthy environment at the inception of our administration and we were praised for it. But we have discovered that many people want to take us back to the time when Ibadan was called one of the dirtiest cities in the world”.
Governor Ajimobi then charged the refuse collectors to work in tandem with the regulations set by the contractor engaged by the government for refuse management as well as advocated synergy among the collectors for better efficiency
“What we are doing today is to recontext our environment. We believe that a clean environment will enhance the health status of our people and improve the aesthetics of our towns and cities. This will ultimately attract foreign investments. We are using the strategy of outsourcing, but in doing this, we are not sending the refuse collectors away. But, they will work with the contractors who will coordinate their activities and other aspects of the project”.
He stressed further that “sanitary inspectors will also work with the contractors to ensure compliance and we are equally going to engage the services of security agencies to enforce compliance with the state’s environmental laws.”