By Prince Woke
The Nkpolu Oroworukwo community in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers state has taken a proactive step to safeguard residents and business owners against floods as the rain intensifies.
The Chairman of Nkpolu Oroworukwo Community Environmental Sanitation And Revenue Committee, Hon. Innocent Wechie, along with members of the committee, went around the community between 7 and 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 5th,2025, to encourage people to clear their drainage and educate residents on the dangers of dumping refuse on drainage and blocking them. In an interview with Journalists, Mr Innocent Wechie said
“The job is all about the cleanliness of Nkpolu Oroworukwo community and the health of people living there.
“If you look around, we are on inspection. Today is sanitation,7-10 am. We want all residents, both indigenous and non-indigenous, to clean their drainage and keep their environment clean.
“Rainy season is fast approaching, and we are making sure nobody throws refuse inside the gutter. Once they dump refuse inside the gutter, the drainage will be blocked, which will lead to flooding, and the compounds will be flooded. So that is the essence of what we are doing.
“Well, before we go out in the morning, we pray, we hand over our work to God. Only God can protect us and give us that wisdom.
‘To avoid violation of human rights,I always talk to them in the morning,tell them not to violate somebody’s rights.If somebody violate the law,and you meet the person and the person is still adamant, you should invite the Police or the RIWAMA people to join force with you to apprehend the person.
“We believe in the rule of law. We don’t want a situation where we will have a problem. We know the work is challenging, and as it is challenging, we make sure we follow due process. You must have a challenge in life.
“Anything you are doing in life that is good, has it own challenge.We also bring people to educate our members on human rights,talk to them on what constitutes human rights too.
“Before now,we have also sensitized the residents on the dangers and negative effects of dumping refuse in the drainage and blocking the drainage system”.
Hon. Wechie further stated that committee members will not relent in ensuring a clean and healthy environment.
