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Nigerian Tribune Tuesday 24 May, 2011
COMMUNITY NEWS ·
LAWMA begins clearing of waste from water bodies
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HE Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), has begun the clearing of waste from water bodies in the state, Mr Ola Oresanya, the Managing Director, .
has said. Oresanya told journalists in Lagos that the project was ongoipg in Lekki, Badagry, Ikorodu, Iddo, Snake Isl a nd and Oworonshoki.
He expressed the hope that that the exe rcise wotiId enhance the preservation of aquatic life. "We have commenced a routine operation of waste collection and dis-
posal from across lagoons in the state. "From a study carried out by LAWMA, there are about 20 of such black spots where different types of waste are indiscrimi-
nately dumped by traders, fishermen and sand miners," he said. The managing director appealed to fishermen, miners and traders to desist from dumping refuse into lagoons to avoid its . adverse consequences on aquatic life. Oresanya said that the state government would not hesita te to sanction anyoJ1e found dumping refuse into lagoons and other unauthorised places along the coastline. " We all need to know tha t dumping of refuse along the sh ore lines i~ dangerous a nd will adversely affect water quality, obstruct nav igation and
pose a threat to aquatic life. "Therefore, inhabitants, market men and women as well as o thers working alon g the water bodies should ensure sustai nab le use of OU f marine r ~ sources," he said. The LA WMA boss further said that the authority had constituted a monitoring task force comprising naval office rs and other security agents to . patrol and arrest those dumping refuse into lagoons. He said that the authority· was committed to ridding the state of waste and that public enlightenment wo uld be intensified on proper disposal of refuse.
Motorcyclist in soup for allegedly stabbing man . .. ~
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'This is the damage flood mostly caused by blocked drainage or lack of good drainage system could cause to residents in homestead. To avoid such a situation, government "nd citizenry should be alert to their responsibilities.
commercia l motorcyclist, . Abdulrahaman Musa, was on Wednesd ay arraigned before an Apapa Senior Magistrates' Cou·r t for alJegedly stabbing a man, Saliu LawaI, wi th a knife. The accused, who is facing a cha rge of assau lt, however, .pleaded not guilty.
The prosecuto r, Sergeant Uche Kalu, alleged ·that the accused stabbed LawaI following a disagreement. He said th e stabbing causea LawaI a grievous harm which led to his admission in a hosp ital. Kalu sa id the offence which was committed on May 5 at 12, Otubu Estate, Ijeg4n, a Lagos suburb, contravened Section 335 of the C riminal Code, Laws of Lagos State. The senior mag istrate, Mr Amos Adeyemi , gra nted the accused bail in th e sum of N50,000 with o ne s ure ty in like sum and adjourned the case till May 30.
Council boss warns against dumping of refuse in drains
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HE people of the communities in Batsari Local Goveroment of Katsina Stare hav.e been warned against dump ing of · refuse in d rains·. Alhaji Abd!l Ruma; the Acting councii Chairman, ;;a ve , .the warn ing in 3a tsari recently, while in- · i pecting the cleariilg of . irains organised by Keke n Shanu Associa'ion', an NGO in the area. He saiq. that the warn-
'T HE I State Gov.. eminent w ill, any . time from June, stop ·aking care of the victims .Jf last yeitr's flood disas"er which otcurred in the ,\.jegunle !uea of Ikorodu. They ru;e currently being ~amped at Agbowa Relief ·._ amp . . The Commissioner for ·jpecial Duties, Dr Tola t<asali, a.n:nounced this
on
iNe dnesday d uring a luestion-~nd answer-ses; ion aftel presenting the · '. ~'·!linistry ' s stewardship for . W10 .
ing beca me necessary to prevent flooding, especially with the onset of the ·rainy season. ' Ru rna a ttribu ted the 2010 flood disaster in the area to blocked . drainage systems caused by refuse and warned that anyone caught dumping refuse in unauthori zed. places wou ld be arrested and prosecuted. "Henceforth, the council will not take it lightly with anybody found via"
The News Agen%fNigeria (NAN) reports that 1,019 of the flood victims· are still at the camp. " We are now preparing· adisengagement plan for the victims who have been at the Relief Camp, Agbowa since Oct. 11, 2010. " Tile ministry is recommending to the state government a disengagement plan with effect from JW1e or JUty," Kasali said. The coti1ffiissioner said · that the ininistry could not · implement the disengage·
lating environmental laws in the area," he said. Th.e cha irman commended "Keken Shanu" for the initiative and urged other associations to " borrow a leaf' from them. He disclosed that the
state government had prqvided three refuse collection vans for the area as part of efforts to ensure a healthy env ironment. The state government had also provided three water tankers to ease the
water shortage in the area, he said. Earlier, the d1airman of th e a.s socia ti on, Ma lam Yusuf Reza, appealed·to the council to assist the associ ation wi81 working materials to enhance its activities.
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pEASANT farmers in at ward ·level for this farmBauchi State ha ve ing season. . ex pressed satisfacSome of the farmers, tion over the decision ofthe. who spoke with the newsstate. government to dis- m en in Bauchi on tribute fertiliser to farmers Wednesday, described 81e method "as "a right step in · the right direction". Musa Isa, a mai ze ment pIaI'. immediately farm er in Kangare village . because most of- the vic- on the outskirts of Bauchi tims' children w~re at- metropolis, said that the tending school in Agbowa new strategy w here the commod ity was bein g town: Kasali assured the vic- tra nsported to the wards tims and their landlords and other des ignated that the sta.te government paints ·was encouraging. Isa · expressed delight was w.orking on providing permanent homes for the that the method had eliminated the previous situadisplaced people. " W.e intend to build tion whereby the commod'some houses for the Inter- ity was heaped at the state nally Displaced Persons capi ta l or local governheadquarters, (lOPs) arid their landlords; ment under a speci~l scheme to thereby making it difficuI"t be funded by the state gov- for farmers to access it. ernment.He added .that the· new .,:.
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method had also reduced cost of transporting .the co mmodity and created the enabling environment for farmers to purchase it. Isa stressed the need for efficient management of the n]ethod to check diversion of the commodity and allow real farmers· to ·derive maxin1Um benefit from the government's efforts· to boost food production. Suleiman Shehu, a n- · other fa rmer at Kafin Madaki town in Ganjuwa L<;lcal Government, commended the state government for the new developmen t. He also praised the state governmen t for appointing the committee headed by Alhaji Muhammed Sa de to supervise the distribution of the commodity. ., ~h ~~u ~ ~."'ever, sug-
gested thar a g reater percentage of the commodity be allocated to rural farmers who he observed, accounted for about 80 per cent of the farm ers in the state. He also suggested that a lower percentage of the commodity should be d istributed to public institutions. He accused them of being responsible for the corrupt ·practices the characterised pa s t fertili ser distribution m e thod and se llin g the commodity at very high cost to genuine farmers. Meanwhile, the District Head of Bauchi , A lh aji Nuhu Jumb a, ha s sa id that th e new m e thod would encourage farmers . to put in their best in food production .