Dr Mohammed Abubakar, General Manager, Niger State Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA), has called on residents to change their attitude toward indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Abubakar made the call during a meeting with staff of the agency on assumption of office on Wednesday in Minna.
“It is not going to be business as usual; we need to change our attitude towards lots of things.
“You cannot generate waste and confidently bring out that waste and dump it in an open ground, we want to ensure responsibility in management of waste and this include disposal of waste,” he said
He said that the agency would come up with new policies on waste disposal in the state.
The general manager said that the new policies would be either disposal of waste at a primary dumping site, or secondary collection points depending on the peculiarity of the area.
He said that the era of people dumping waste indiscriminately was over, adding that the urban renewal policy of Gov. Umaru Bago could only succeed in a clean environment.
Abubakar said that the governor had given a matching order to reposition the agency within the next six months to become a revenue generating agency.
In her remarks, Hajiya Halima Ndanusa, who had been overseeing the agency, expressed optimism that the new general manager would bring his wealth of experience in waste management.
She said the agency was faced with the challenge of inadequate funding, and lack of modern equipment to enable it discharge its responsibility effectively. (NAN)