Residents commend Gov Agbu for engaging women, youth to clean Jalingo

After PREMIUM TIMES’ stories detailing how filth and unsightly environment around the newly constructed bridge in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba, less than 72 hours after his inauguration, the governor of the Taraba State, Kefas Agbu, has hired some youths and women to clean the city.

On Thursday morning, scores of youths and women were seen cleaning and clearing drainages at Roadblock, around the flyover, and its surrounding.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the flyover and the surrounding bridge were littered with broken bottles, used plastic, dirty nylons, and rags.

The cleaners, primarily young ladies and women, who carried their brooms, sang as they swept the street.

The cleaners paid more attention to the refuse along the roads, near the flyover and the motor parks.

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They were chanting “sai Kefas” meaning “only Kefas.”

The exercise attracted admiration from residents, who hailed the initiative of the new governor for tackling the intractable problems of environmental pollution in the capital city.

The state capital has a perennial sanitation problem. Many areas in the city are pervaded by poor hygiene and offensive smell.

Residents and shop owners were pleasantly surprised at the effort made by the new government to clean the city.

Ndubuisi Okoro, a shop owner, said the initiative of the new governor was highly impressive.

“This exercise will give the city a new look and beauty.”

He advised the governor to introduce monthly sanitation exercises and also make adequate provisions for waste disposal bins.

Mr Okoro said due to an absence of designated areas for dumping of refuse; residents were forced to dump the garbage along roadsides and into drainages, thereby blocking the free flow of water, sometimes resulting in flooding, particularly during the rainy season.

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A resident of Mayo Dassa, who gave her name as Baby Luka, commended the governor. She, however, raised concerns about the lack of disposal bins.

She then pleaded with the government to put waste disposals in place and provide vehicles for frequent refuse evacuation.

Ms Luka also wants the government to sensitise residents on properly using refused disposals.

“Some people do not have a proper orientation about waste disposal bins; the government should embark on a sensitisation campaign on that area.”

One of the cleaners, Helen Yakubu, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES in excitement, said about 300 of them were engaged on Tuesday on a stipend of N20 thousand monthly.