Gov Alia Warns Residents: Stop Dumping Refuse in Drainages

Benue State Governor, Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has warned residents against dumping refuse in newly constructed drainages, on roads and pavements, saying the practice threatens to undermine the government’s massive investment in infrastructure and urban renewal across the state.

The governor, in a statement issued on Monday, August 10 by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, appealed to residents to take personal responsibility for keeping their homes, streets and communities clean.

Fr. Alia said his administration had invested heavily in road construction and reconstruction, drainage systems, ecological and erosion-control projects and urban renewal across the state, to reverse decades of infrastructural decay.

He, however, expressed concern that some residents had resumed indiscriminate waste disposal despite the improved infrastructure and public spaces provided by the government.

According to the statement, allowing refuse to accumulate in drainages and other public spaces could defeat the purpose of the government’s interventions and expose communities to avoidable health and environmental hazards.

“Cleanliness must begin with each one of us—in our homes, on our streets, and in our communities,” the governor said, stressing that a clean environment was not a luxury but a necessity.

He warned that blocked drainages could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, trigger flooding and contribute to the spread of waterborne diseases. At the same time, heaps of refuse could attract rodents and other pests.

The governor therefore directed residents to cultivate the habit of proper waste disposal, urging them to use approved waste collection points and observe official evacuation hours.

He specifically appealed to landlords, tenants, business owners and community leaders to regard the environment around their homes and businesses as their responsibility.

Fr. Alia also urged communities to organise regular clean-up exercises, assuring them that the state government would support community-driven environmental sanitation initiatives