We'll soon be back on Top- Cross River Vows cleaner Calabar

The Cross River State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Moses John Osagi, has assured residents that the state government is intensifying efforts to restore and maintain its reputation for environmental cleanliness, declaring that the state is on course to reclaim its position as the cleanest in Nigeria.

By. Victoria Omini.

Osagi made the assertion during an exclusive interview with Nigerian Tribune, stressing that the government remains committed to improving waste management and sanitation across the state, particularly in the capital city of Calabar.

He noted that although waste management is primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment, the operational handling of refuse evacuation in the city is carried out through the Calabar Urban Development Authority (CUDA).

According to him, the ministry provides oversight while CUDA works with designated waste managers responsible for evacuating refuse within specific areas of the city.

“Waste management is saddled with the Ministry of Environment but with CUDA. It is only when CUDA fails to evacuate the waste at the stipulated time that we step in as the mother body to carry out emergency interventions by sending trucks to evacuate the refuse,” he explained.

The commissioner further disclosed that Calabar metropolis is divided into two operational zones—Calabar Municipal and Calabar South—with each zone handled by different waste management operators to ensure efficiency in refuse evacuation.

Osagi revealed that the state government recently undertook extensive environmental interventions during the last sanitation exercise after refuse heaps began to accumulate in several parts of the city.

He said the Ministry of Environment deployed additional trucks and personnel to support emergency evacuation efforts in order to reduce the growing waste piles and maintain environmental standards.

The commissioner, however, expressed concern over the role of some residents in worsening the sanitation situation, lamenting that indiscriminate dumping of refuse in gutters often leads to blockage and flooding during rainfall.

While appealing to residents to adopt responsible waste disposal practices by using designated dumpsites, Osagi assured that government interventions are already yielding results, adding that “Cross Riverians should be calm; it is part of the process. We are known for cleanliness, and very soon everything will take shape because of our aggressive intervention. We are on track to take our spot as the number one cleanest state.”