Odour oozing out of a dumpsite in Uyo village road has continued to threaten Uyo Local Government workers, Judiciary workers and the Akwa Ibom government house workers.
It was gathered that the site which is located about 200 meters from the government house and few metres from Uyo Local Government secretariat, was relocated from Udoh street, where some people were reported to have died as a result of the stench.
The resultant deaths from Udoh street, it was gathered, stirred up protests among youths leading to the relocation of the dumpsite to the Uyo Village road.
It was further gathered that the dumpsite which was supposed to be temporal has been there for more than three years now, emitting dangerous stench into the government house, especially the Press Corps and the Governor’s lodge.
Experts have warned that continuous retention of the dumpsite at a place would pose serious health implications to the workers and residents of the areas.
A professor of Agricultural and Development Economics at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Prof.Gabriel Umoh, said, “the stench oozing from the dumpsite constitutes serious health hazards to people passing along the road”
Speaking on the situation, the State Commissioner for Environment and Petroleum Resources, Mr Charles Udoh admitted that government was aware of the situation and was working towards turning the waste into wealth
“We are aware of the issue and are working towards getting rid of it. We have an investor who is coming to convert the waste to power, so the stench we have there and everything will soon disappear. We just talked to the guys, it is COVID-19 that slowed us down”. he said
Speaking on remedial measures being taken to get rid of the stench in the government house and nearby places, Udoh said “Well, I cannot give you a timeline now, but we are in discussion with them. Rest assured that we are working towards it.
“it is not just moving the refuse from there because if we move from there we are going to dump it somewhere else and it’s going to create another problem. Rather we are looking at a way of managing the waste so that it would not be injurious to human health”.
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