By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The Anambra State Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Clem Aguiyi, today paid an unscheduled visit to Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, otherwise called OCHA Brigade, as part of an effort to implement Governor Soludo’s environmental action for the State. OCHA Brigade is an agency of government created by the Governor Willie Obiano’s administration, and charged with enforcing the various provisions of the Anambra State Environmental Law, requiring compliance from Anambra residents. This visit by the Commissioner is part of a preliminary on-the-spot assessment in preparation for the full implementation of a series of environmental actions in line with Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s declaration on the environment last Thursday during the State’s 35th anniversary.
During the visit to the Agency’s office in Awka on Monday, Dr. Aguiyi reiterated Governor Soludo’s emergency declaration on the environment, urging OCHA Brigade officers to rise to the occasion to save the State’s future by securing its present. Stressing the environmental situation in Anambra State, the Commissioner for Environment said that “Anambra has an environmental emergency.” According to the Commissioner, “OCHA Brigade is the environmental police in Anambra State. We have work to do. There is a reason the Governor focused on the environment,” the Commissioner said, urging the officers to “Go back to work to make Anambra State better.” The Commissioner also took the time to inspect the agency’s office.
Further engagement between Dr. Aguiyi and the Agency is expected to continue tomorrow, as the Commissioner insists that enforcement of Anambra State’s environmental law is a key component of the Governor’s mandate on the environment, which cannot wait another minute without full implementation.
About Author
