RIWAMA Sole Administrator, Obuah Records Milestones As He Partners Multinational Companies

The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro. Felix Obuah has recorded another milestone in the bid to restore the Garden City status of Port Harcourt and immediate environs.

This followed a meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2015 with multinational companies operating in the State where he called for greater cooperation to boost the crusade for a cleaner Rivers State and further enhance a healthy and pollution free environment for company operators in the State.

Bro. Obuah assured that the Agency was poised to improve its services to companies and directed that those seeking exemption permit for the monthly sanitation exercise would henceforth pay the specified fees while two weeks notice should be given to the Agency to prepare the necessary papers.

He told the over one hundred top company executives who gathered at the Agency’s Conference Hall, that the synergy between their organizations and RIWAMA underscores the importance placed on companies in the State by Governor Nyesom Wike administration and urged them to do the needful so that the Agency could sustain its social responsibility of quality service to companies and people of the State.

The Sole Administrator said the meeting was necessary to intimate them on the modus operandi of his Agency and to express Governor Wike’s appreciation of their importance in the State, stressing that he was also not unaware of the challenges militating against the smooth operation of their businesses.

“Governor Wike is aware of your challenges and that is why we want to remove all the bottlenecks to make things easier and also make life more meaningful for you,” Obuah said, adding that the companies were indispensable for two reasons: one, as a source of employment while the second point has to do with the quantum of revenue government generates from the companies.

He frowned at the reluctance of companies to support the monthly sanitation exercise by donating vehicles and other equipment. He however gave special kudos to Mobil Oil Producing Company for supporting RIWAMA in that regard.

Bro. Obuah told the company representatives that his agency was aware that fake waste managers were on prowl in Port Harcourt and its environs, issuing demand notices and receipts to unsuspecting companies, purportedly from RIWAMA and advised them not to patronize such people.

He revealed and displayed before the audience a copy of demand notice for operational permit issued by an acclaimed service provider to a company in Trans-Amadi requesting cash payment of the sum of N850,000 and signed by one ‘Dr. Felix Obuah, Sole Administrator of RIWAMA’.

While condemning such unwholesome practices, Bro. Obuah berated companies who patronize these fakes for pecuniary benefits, warning that the law would soon catch up with them.

He noted that RIWAMA has designated banks where payments should be made and do not collect cash from companies, warning both fake service providers and the companies who patronize them to desist from the act as his officials would be visiting all companies in the next 14 days to find out their waste management systems as well as service providers they have dealings with.

Some of the representatives who spoke at the event praised the initiatives of the Sole Administrator and urged him to keep up the tempo.

Njoku Clement who stood in for INTELS described the partnership as a welcome development and pledged the readiness of his company to support RIWAMA with equipment that would aid the monthly sanitation exercise.

He urged the Sole Administrator to explore the prospect of recycling the wastes for economic benefits.

Emmanuel Igwe of Primus Nigeria Limited said the meeting was heartwarming and thanked Bro. Obuah for his determination to restore Port Harcourt to its former status as cleanest city in the country, adding that his company would do its best to encourage the Agency in its quest to clean Rivers State.

In the same vein, Mr. Omajara Jacobs of Lone Star Drilling praised the Sole Administrator for integrating corporate organisations in the environmental waste management plan.

In his words, “We all know that a good environment is the hallmark for development. I will go back and tell my company that the State is asking for assistance both resourcefully, equipment wise and otherwise so that this laudable initiative can become a success”.

Signed:
Jerry Needam
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity
To the Sole Administrator,
Rivers State Waste Management Agency
Friday, August 14, 2015.