…..Says RIWAMA Is
Determined To Restore Lost Garden City Status of PH
The Sole Administrator
of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah has
thanked the management of Sterling Bank Plc over the donation of 450 pairs of Sweepers’
vests to the Agency.
Bro. Obuah, who
received the items in his office in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said the
donation of the coveralls was significant, as it came on the very day marking
his one year in office as Sole Administrator of RIWAMA.
He told the visiting
Sterling Bank team, led by the South-South Regional Retail Business Executive,
Mrs. Nneka Enang, that the Agency was especially grateful to the Bank for standing
out as one of the first corporate organisations to partner with RIWAMA for the
purpose of cleaning Port Harcourt City.
Obuah described the
gesture of the Bank as highly commendable, and implored other banks and
corporate organisations to follow suit.
According to him, “This is the first time we are receiving any corporate
organisation coming here not only to partner with us to clean up Port Harcourt
and sensitize the people on the need to clean their environment, but spending
their money to provide up to 450 coveralls for the cleaners. We are indeed, very grateful”.
The RIWAMA boss said he
would remain grateful to Sterling Bank over the presentation of the items,
adding that the gifts had further boosted his resolve to accomplish the mandate
given by Governor Nyesom Wike to return Port Harcourt, the State capital, and
its environs to its lost status as cleanest State in Nigeria.
The Sole Administrator
assured his visitors that the materials would be judiciously used, commending
the team for what he called ‘excellent marketing’, adding that the Bank had,
through their action, cemented a lasting business relationship with the Agency.
He assured that RIWAMA
would set aside a date to unveil the sweepers’ coveralls to enable members of
the public see and appreciate the good gesture of Sterling Bank.
“On that day, all the
cleaners would wear the uniform and we shall march round the streets of Port
Harcourt to re-awaken the clean consciousness of the people of Rivers
State. This is the only way we can also let
other corporate organizations know that Sterling Bank has done this for Rivers
State”, he said, amid applause.
Bro. Obuah, who is also
the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State said it was
on record that Sterling Bank was one of the Banks operating in the State that
has keyed into the vision of the State Governor to ensure a garbage free Rivers
State.
Bro. Obuah seized the
occasion to comment on his one year anniversary which coincided with the visit
of the Sterling Bank officials, saying although it has been fraught with
challenges, he has been able to change the face of Port Harcourt from the
‘filthy’ state of the environs to a much serene and dirt-free city.
“Waste management is
the only area the government spends without getting any money in return. This is the only area the government has
subsidized 100% without charging the people.
Government pays for carting away all these wastes and Chief (Barr)
Ezenwo Wike has done this for the past one year without owing any Service Provider”,
he declared.
The RIWAMA Sole
Administrator was full of praise for Governor Wike, whom he said gave him the
necessary motivation to succeed in the task of cleaning the State, adding that
but for the Governor’s encouragements, he would have been discouraged by the
filthy state of the city as well as the huge bills from the contractors, which
the previous administration left for the Wike administration to settle.
“I had to plead with
the service providers as most of them were owed for as much as four, five
months to the tune of over N2 billion.
Undermining the fact that we never owed them, but the Amaechi
administration did, the Governor approved and made sure the service providers
were paid and moved to site”, he said.
Obuah stated that if
not for the doggedness of the Governor, one year would not have been enough for
the Agency to pay off what was being owed the contractors by the administration
of Amaechi, and at the same time, clean up the city.
Speaking earlier, while
presenting the 450 pieces of the sweepers’ coveralls, the leader of the
Sterling Bank team and South-South Regional Retail Business Executive, Mrs.
Nneka Enang, said the gesture was one of the bank’s corporate social
responsibilities which was focused on sustaining a clean environment through
participation.
Enang, who disclosed
that the exercise was simultaneously taking place in 16 States across the
country, added that the Bank mobilized its workforce to clean all the nooks and
crannies of Port Harcourt City ahead of the World Environment Day, which holds
on the 6th day of June every year.
“In this exercise,
which we call ‘Make Over’, every staff of Sterling Bank cleans up every bit of
the environment”, she said.
The Bank Executive,
while congratulating Bro. Obuah on a successful one year in office, commended
him for a job well done, adding that RIWAMA has undoubtedly met its obligation
to the people.
Signed:
Jerry Needam
Special
Adviser on Media/Publicity
To
the Sole Administrator
Rivers
State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA)
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