Rivers Govt To Arrest Street Footballers, Traders During Sanitation

Rivers State government would henceforth arrest and prosecute residents who indulge in street football and trading during hours of the environmental sanitation exercise held last Saturday of every month.

Sole Administrator, Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro Felix Obuah made the declaration Saturday as he moved round Port Harcourt and environs to see level of stakeholders’ compliance with the monthly sanitation.

He observed that street trading and footballing take place at areas of high commercial activities in Port Harcourt during sanitation hours, warning parents and guardians to call their children, wards to order.

Obuah said, “This is not encouraging because in the process of playing football and trading on streets and roads during sanitation hours, such areas are littered with wastes.

“It is not the best time to play football or any other game for that matter or selling on the streets. If you want to play games or sell, don’t do it during the environmental sanitation hours. Henceforth those found engaging in such acts would be arrested and charged before the Sanitation Court.”

In spite of his displeasure with the situation, the RIWAMA boss said, “The overall compliance was good. We passed through Ikwerre Road, Ikokwu, Ojoto, Azikiwe, Emenike, Iloabuchi, D/Line, Rumuomasi, Aba Road and many other streets and roads in Port Harcourt, the State capital”

He further appealed to residents to desist from dumping refuse in the gutters and other water channels as doing so may cause blockages which may aggravate flooding.