Yuguda returns to northern govs forum

The World Environment Day was celebrated recently. What were the highlights of the ministry’s activities that day?It was a big day and it was not a day that was confined to Bayelsa. It was a world- wide celebration, and it was celebrated in all the states and the guidelines upon which the celebration was done, […]

The World Environment Day was celebrated recently. What were the highlights of the ministry’s activities that day?
It was a big day and it was not a day that was confined to Bayelsa. It was a world- wide celebration, and it was celebrated in all the states and the guidelines upon which the celebration was done, the state duly complied with it. There was a broadcast. We had a lecture and it was delivered by a distinguished lecturer and the chairman of the occasion was the Vice Chancellor of Niger Delta University. We had cultural performances emphasising the place of environment; and we had a theme that was brought from the UN. So it was a general celebration around the whole world, not just Bayelsa.
The governor recently expressed dissatisfaction with the sanitary situation in the state, particularly in Yenagoa. What are you doing about it?
There is an understanding. There is the Environmental Sanitation Authority which is independent of the Ministry of Environment. They are saddled with the statutory responsibility of cleaning the debris and waste around the environment and I think you really need to see the chairman to hear what he has to say.
Yes the governor talked about the sanitary situation and what we needed to do. Meetings have been held, functions have been given to those who should carry them out. Like I said they are statutory functions backed by law. So it is not as if somebody will wake up and do another person’s duties. The primary duty of removing refuse and waste from the streets is the statutory function of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority and they are trying their best.
They have their constraints and they have brought them before government and I think government is looking into it seriously.
But the Sanitation authority is an agency of the ministry and should oversee what is going on there?
That is the way it is looked at, but there is a situation whereby we have about three laws that give the Bayelsa State Environmental Authority some level of independence to do what it is doing. So this is a ministry and the ministry has a lot of parastatals. It is not as if we will stay here and take over the direct functions that are given by law, you need to look at the law to be able to know what you should do and where you should stop otherwise you will be encroaching on another man’s work that is assigned to him by law. So the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority law is there, and then there is the Bayelsa state Waste Disposal Law, all of which ascribe responsibility to the Bayelsa State Sanitation Authority to clear waste out of Bayelsa State including removing mad people out of the streets and all that. You need to look at the law to see how they are spelt out.
The recent land slide that happened in the state was something we had for the first time, I want to know what the ministry has done to assist the victims?
I was one of the first persons who visited that place. Incidentally that was the place I grew up. That means it could have been any other place and I would have gone as Commissioner of Environment. I went there and assessed what was there. We made some enquiries and found out that there was a contract the NDDC has given to some companies to come and do the shore line protection there. We traced them and got them. I also got to the MD of the NDDC in a conference and confronted him openly and he apologised for what happened and said they had problems because some people took them to court so they could not do their work as at when due. So they gave their apologies and said they were going back to site and when they got back to site they called me and said they are back to do their work.
You know this is separation of powers. The NDDC has been created by an act again to do what they are doing. If they are already in a place doing what they are doing and there is a problem because the people are in Bayelsa state we go there and intervene and see what can be done. The moment we identify the people who it is their primary responsibility to do, we urge them to go and do that. But beyond that we have also drummed enough support and I can tell you that several interventionist institutions have also gone there and given things to the people. Some relocation moves have also been made. So this is what I can tell you for now.
You talked about relocation, are you thinking of moving some people or the entire community?
I think part of what we are doing is this, yes NDDC is there and they are supposed to be doing their work. We also want to conduct some study to determine the safety of the people should they continue to stay there. If you visited there the time I went the place collapsed and there were still marks there. As I speak with you, we are collaborating with some people in Abuja, HYPREP and others which we have formally written to come and undertake a study of the area to determine whether it is safe for the people to stay there.
How prepared is the state for the looming threat of yet another flood?
Well I think you know the state has taken some steps. When the flood came last year, it was a devastating experience. We were primarily involved from day one when the flood was noticed until the time the governor created a body that took over the overseeing sort of, of the entire flood disaster headed by no less a person than the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa. After the floods receded, two steps were urgently taken. The governor did set up an Infrastructural Advisory Committee to tour round the state to know if we can still keep our infrastructure because if you went with me round the state, you would discover that houses that were as big as this were seated inside the water. The Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe for example, the entire school was seated inside water. So there was now a need to review the architectural and building plans of all the houses so government set up a committee that went round of which I had the honour of being a member. After then, the Post Flood Committee was set up headed by Chief Doukpola who has been working.
 But apart from all that, several meetings have been held, reports have been submitted and the state is trying to commence the building of camps in all the LGA. The state is also trying to see how food can be kept because what we found out last year was that we were literarily bringing in people from all the villages to Yenagoa to cook for them and to meet their medical needs. So what we are doing now is to decentralize all such moves. The Deputy Governor is going to address a world Press Conference on the steps that are being taken.
But I can assure that I have been to several meetings, several engagements where we have determined on our own as a state to ensure that what we experienced last year would not take place this year again.