By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra State Council has lauded Anambra State Government for entrenching security of lives and property in the state.
This was part of a six-point communique issued by the council during its October congress held at Godwin Ezeemo International Press Center, Awka, which welcomed the recent flag-off of roads in the state, especially in communities long neglected by previous administrations and called on the state government to prioritise roads in the capital city as several of the roads within Awka and environs are no longer motorable.
The communiqué, signed by the chairman of the council, Dr Odogwu Emeka Odogwu and Secretary, Comrade Alloysius Offordile  further urged government to do everything within its powers to ensure that the streetlights once again begin to illuminate the streets and towns of the state,  saying it is of strategic importance to maintaining security.
It expressed dissatisfaction with the evacuation efforts by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) of persons displaced by the flood disaster in five local government areas of the state, appealing to them to intensify efforts and reduce as much as possible the impact of the humanitarian crisis emerging from the flood, even as it advised Anambra State Government through the Anambra State Waste Management Agency (ASWAMA), to review its policy of house-to-house collection of waste as the strategy seems not to be working yet and advocated a two-way approach where the house-to-house collection will coexist with the previous method of placing receptacles at strategic points in towns and cities in order to make waste management more efficient.
It called the attention of the state government to the continued illegal revenue collection in the state especially at Okpoko in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Onitsha and Ifite Awka, in Awka South Local Government Area, despite the government’s policy against it.
The communiqué frowned at extortion, intimidation and harassment of motorists in the state by operatives of the Anambra State Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA) and Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), especially in the state capital, taking note of the fact that some of these agencies are not acting within the ambit of the law and called on the state government to intervene in the matter.
