PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper News across the Niger Delta
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By Our Reporter
A non-governmental organisation, My Environment My Wealth, has evacuated over 3000kg of waste from the heavily polluted Akpajo water bodies in Eleme LGA, Rivers State. The cleanup, which covered water bottles, nylon bags, used bottles and other plastic products littered along the river banks, was held on June 13 to mark World Oceans Day.
Speaking during the exercise, Facilitator of My Environment My Wealth, Wonne Afronelly, advised coastal communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region to adopt new waste disposal methods. She urged residents to learn how to sort, separate and dispose of waste products appropriately instead of dumping them into water bodies. “Our campaign for a cleaner environment has endured for the past 15 years. I’m asking inhabitants to sustain the advocacy to preserve our ocean that has sustained us in so many ways,” she said.
Leading a team of volunteers comprising UniPort and Eleme students alongside community volunteers at the Akpajo waterfront, Afronelly — initiator of My Environment My Wealth and partner of Ocean Conservancy USA — called on the Federal and State Governments, RIWAMA and NIMASA to initiate ocean-friendly policies. She said better regulations would help regulate waste and support cleanup efforts across Nigeria’s water bodies.
This year’s World Oceans Day theme, “Reimagine the World You Know: Building a New Relationship with Our Ocean”, was marked at the busy Akpajo waterfront, a key fishing and sand dredging settlement in Eleme. Energy and Maritime Reporters of Nigeria, EMR, who joined the cleanup said sustained cleanup exercises are necessary to restore sanity to the area and protect livelihoods that depend on the river.
