Black soot: Wike orders arrest of 15 mechanics allegedly burning tyres in Oyigbo
Sequel to the fight against the pollution of the Rivers State environment with black soot, the state governor, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, on Friday ordered the arrest of 15 mechanics engaged in illegal burning of used tyres and condemned engine oil in Oyigbo, near Port Harcourt.
Governor Wike who ran into the mass illegal burning of tyres and condemned engine oil on Aba Road around the Oyigbo axis of the capital city, when he was returning from Oyigbo where he attended the funeral service of Late Sir Precious Oforji, was attracted by the inferno which emitted a tick smoke into the atmosphere.
On getting to the site of the burning, the governor directed his motorcade to stop and went directly into the large mechanic workshop where the mechanics had used an open field to burn the tyres and condemned engine oil.
The governor who was in the company of the former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, Rivers State PDP Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah and, former Rivers State Governor, Sir Celestine Omehia directed the State Fire Service to put out the fire, instructing that immediate steps taken to ensure that the fire did not spread to neighbouring houses in the area.
On the arrest of the mechanics polluting the environment, he said that the State Government would liaise with relevant security agencies to ensure they were prosecuted, noting that his administration was working with all stakeholders to ensure that the black soot polluting the atmosphere was brought under control.
He said that nobody would be allowed to endangered the lives of the people of the state through harmful environmental practices.
Governor Wike, then, assured the people of Rivers State that the Task Force set up to tackle the black soot had been duly empowered to ensure that the state’s environment was safe for all residents.
