The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah, has called on security agencies, especially the Police, to stop the incessant arrest, harassment and intimidation of sanitation workers who clean the city at nights.

Bro. Obuah, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the call became necessary as the continual arrest and harassment of the cleaners and those who carry away refuse is capable of subverting the efforts of the Agency to keep the state clean and healthy.

The Sole Administrator emphasised that the job of cleaning the city at the odd hours of the night is indispensable and should be commended, adding that those who do it ought to be appreciated rather than hounded and dumped into police cells.

Bro. Obuah appealed to the Police to assist the Agency by ensuring that the cleaners are not molested or intimidated by residents and hoodlums who disturb their peace and services at nights.

“Rather than these indiscriminate arrests and throwing the cleaners into the cells, any case against them should be referred to our office at Mile 4, Ikwerre Road, for immediate consideration and prompt action,” the RIWAMA boss stated.

Bro. Obuah also cautioned on the implications of locking up these cleaners which, in most cases, takes two to three days, warning it may lead to environmental crisis.

The Sole Administrator, however, called for urgent understanding and cooperation of security agencies in this regard, adding that the task of cleaning the environment and restoring the Garden City status of the state is a collective effort of all, including the Police and other security agencies.

“All hands must be on deck to ensure a garbage-free Rivers State, and the security agencies have a role to play in that regard,” Bro. Obuah said, adding that arresting, harassing and intimidating sanitation workers who clean the city at night would discourage them, thereby leaving the City littered with filths.

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