The Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) has embarked on drain and waste clearance exercise in Maiduguri to control perennial flooding in the area.
The General Manager of the Agency, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Maiduguri.
Suleiman said the exercise is being implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other stakeholders.
He said the exercise was designed to clear drains and water ways to destroy mosquito lava as well as address diseases associated with poor hygiene and sanitation.
The Manager said that Governor Babagana Zulum had constituted a committee on flooding with mandate to identify areas prone to flooding in the metropolis for necessary action to tackle the menace.
“Apart from our staff and other stakeholders like UNDP and ICRC involvement, we also create employment opportunities for the youths who participated in the disilting exercise.
“They disilt drains and we pay them per metre, while trucks and pay loaders evacuate the waste,” he said.
He, however, cautioned residents against indiscriminate dumping of waste on drains and erection of structures on water ways.
Suleman urged community and religious leaders to sensitise their people on the dangers associated with dumping of waste on water ways.
He said that plans were underway to ensure that similar exercise recorded success in the 27 Local Government Areas across the state.
Source: NAN
