Mike Ozoemena, the managing director (MD) of the Anambra State Waste Management Agency (ASWAMA), says the state aims to be among the three cleanest states in Nigeria.

Mr Ozoemena said this in Awka on Thursday while speaking about the agency’s activities over the past 12 months.

The MD said the state had adopted a decentralised waste management system in which local government councils took charge of their domains, while the Ministry of Environment and ASWAMA coordinated.

He said the Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration had started the environmental revolution with the cleaning of Okpoko in the Ogbaru council area and the desilting of drainage systems in the Onitsha metropolis, noting that the next stage was to maintain a clean environment.

Mr Ozoemena said the task of keeping Anambra clean was a herculean one due to the urban nature of most towns.

“The governor has said that we are changing gears to gear-3, and here in ASWAMA, we are switching to the fast lane, and the target is that we want to become the third cleanest state in Nigeria, if not number one.

“Mr Governor started with Okpoko on March 18, 2022, with a committee led by the deputy governor, and the Ochanja market area, which was a mountain of refuse, was turned into a fountain of water.

“We decentralised the waste management system with the involvement of the local government councils, now in charge of waste management in their domains, while the ministry and ASWAMA coordinate,” he said.

Mr Ozoemena said Anambra was holding talks with three companies on possible collaborations in bioenergy and waste-to-wealth projects because of their capital-intensive nature.

He said Anambra generates over 4,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, enough to power a power plant.

The MD said the agency would focus on high-waste-generating areas, such as Eke Awka market, which had proven to be a knotty point.

He cautioned residents of Anambra against paying the sanitation levy in cash to anybody but to pay into the state government account and obtain their receipts.

“Anybody who asks you to pay ASWAMA in cash is a thief; we did not send them. We only collect levies through approved state bank accounts,” he said.

(NAN)