27th June, 2021
By Gami Tadanyigbe
Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, its growing population, with its residents drawn from all walks of life, is situated off the express road which leads to the Airport in Abuja.
This community known to be populated by civil servants and artisans is crying for the attention of the area council administration, calling for the evacuation of the heaps of refuse to has gradually become a menace to the community.
The residents in separate interviews said that the delay in evacuating the refuse could pose a serious health threat to residents and the beauty of the environment.
The residents said the refuse heaps were growing along major roads and open areas across the area council.
A resident of the Quarters area behind the Kuje Township Stadium, Mr Silas Jigo, said that the situation had become worrisome and called on the authorities to urgently evacuate the waste.
Jigo said the rising heap of refuse in the area was not in the interest of the people and their health, especially during the rainy season.
“Considering the harmful effects of refuse on human health, the area council administration should do everything possible to rid the town of the indiscriminate refuse dumps.
“Waste evacuation is very necessary, to ensure the environment is clean and the well-being of the people is safeguarded but the authorities do not seem to understand this,” he said.
Another resident of the Kayarda area, Mrs Racheal Azhigbe, who decried the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in various parts of the council and lack of evacuation, described the situation as an “eyesore”.
Azhigbe said that “The heaps of waste keep growing daily, blocking some major roads and drainages.
“There is no plan by the council administration to improve the situation and they should come up with a plan, where each building will be charged a particular amount for evacuation,” she said.
Mr John Gaza, a resident of the Paseli area, said the Kuje Area Council was gradually becoming a health hazard with heaps of refuse in every corner of the town.
Gaza said that the area council had stationed refuse bins along the road for residents, but complained that they were not being evacuated as at when due.
“The council’s leadership should think of how to implement projects that will improve the living standards of Kuje people, not projects that will be meaningless to the common man.
“The heap of refuse you have seen here is even small, how I wish you would go to the back of the Township Stadium or back of the secretariat to see things for yourself,” he said.
NAN