By Balimwor Ekpe
The Comissioner for Environment in the State, Hon. Moses Osogi today gave out the sum of One hundred thousand naira to residents of Ibok Street in Calabar, as their award earned for being the best cleaned street in the April State wide environmental sanitation exercise.
The sanitation exercise which commenced at 7:00am witnessed residents in different parts of calabar being engaged in the clearing of grasses, evacuation of waste and cleaning of drainages around their environments while numerous violators of the sanitation law got arrested by the security agencies on patrol who later handed them over to the sanitation mobile court set up by Government to try and prosecute offenders of the law.
According to the Environment Commissioner who commended the high compliance of residents and expressed his appreciation to everyone who have contributed to the success of the exercise, Government is not relenting effort to ensure that Cross River retains high standard of cleanliness, elucidated that the sanitation exercise has come to stay and every Cross Riverian and residents in the State are expected to fully participate in it for absolute cleanliness in the State.
At ibok Street, the environment Boss while doing the presentation of the cash award, applauded the Ibok Street residents for collaborating with state Government to keep their Street clean and encouraged them to continue in the cleaning of the gutters and their premises.
The youth leader Mr. Okon Emmanuel who spoke for the residents, thanked Government for initiating the monthly sanitation exercise as it will go a long way to restore the cleanliness the state was known for, also appealed to Government to help them solve the problem of flood that has overtime destroyed properties and negatively affected the lives of flood victims in the street.
Hon. Osogi admonished them to exercise patience and assured them of free flow of water from their gutters soon as intensive evacuation is ongoing on the gutters of the parliamentary village road to open ways for water from their street to freely flow out to other bigger water channels.
At the mobile court on Mcc road, defaulters were seen facing trial, while food items seized were taken to the motherless babies homes at Bateba and Uwaanse Street including the Pope John Paul home of the Aged at target road Calabar.
