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Dr Ibrahim Kabir, DG, Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency
By Akanji Olowolodu, Bauchi
With electioneering campaigns over following the conduct of the 2023 General elections, political parties in Bauchi state as well as their supporters have been given a 7-day ultimatum within which they are to remove all campaign signboards, billboards and other stuff that bears political inscriptions.
The 7 days ultimatum was issued by the Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA) which also directed the affected political parties in the state to immediately remove all shanties that have campaign insignia.
Talking to Journalists on the development in his office, Director General of BASEPA, Dr. Ibrahim Kabiru, said that, “With the elections over, the next thing now is act of governance. We want the entire space to look neat and serene.”
He told the political parties to ensure that the campaign materials within the state capital and across the 20 local government areas of the state were removed otherwise, the Agency will be left with no option other than to be forceful.
Ibrahim Kabiru stressed that if at the end of the ultimatum, any political party or its supporters failed to heed the directives, the agency would have no choice but to render them as wastes that would be removed and disposed off.
According to him, “We want to call the attention of political parties especially the APC, the PDP, NNPP and all others and their supporters regarding what we call at this time, something that is unnecessary. Earlier on, before the elections, we know that there were billboards, signboards and other materials that were used in order to showcase the candidates contesting for one position or the other.”
He stressed that, “Currently, the election period has ended and we are in a time of governance. And the issue of governance had nothing to do with different political parties. Any party that won the election will have to take the lead and make sure that it is just for everyone despite differences in political parties.”
Ibrahim Kabiru stressed that, “At this juncture, being the Bauchi Environmental Protection Agency, the agency that has the mandate to ensure esthetics in the metropolis and to ensure cleanliness and to make sure that all our streets and the nooks and crannies of the entire Bauchi State are tidy.”
“We are calling on the attention of the general public, political parties, candidates and their followers that within the next one week, starting from today, the 8th of May, 2023 to the 15th of this month, to evacuate anything that has to do with political show off in terms of the billboards, signboards and posters,” he said.
He added that, “Wherever they are whether here in Bauchi metropolis, the City Center, and across the 20 local government areas of the state. It is a mandate of the agency to ensure that the metropolis and the local government areas are tidy.”
The BASEPA DG added that, “We know that the billboards, signboards and posters are owned by the political parties and their followers, so they should remove them within the next one week.”
He warnec that, “After this one week, Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency will consider all these materials as wastes and everyone knows that we have a mandate to evacuate wastes wherever it is and we are going to act. I am saying that across all the parties the PDP, the APC, the NNPP and all the others are to take note of that.”
On the monthly sanitation exercise which has not held since the beginning of the year, 2023, the DG explained that the Agency is working on modalities that will make it more effective and result getting unlike what it is presently.
He said that, “We are almost done with the arrangements, we have discussed with all stakeholders in the environment sector and have reached positive conclusions, very soon we will make it public for implementation.”
Ibrahim Kabir added that, “We are introducing a new innovation to the system, we have introduced Sanitation Marshall, just as Special Marshall of the FRSC. We want volunteers to come out and join the group so that our operations can be very effective.”
“As soon as we roll out the new modalities for sanitation, it will a be a different thing, people will see reasons to keep their environment clean, clear and habitable always. It is our business to ensure that we use clean environment to promote healthy society,” he stressed.
