Ebonyi State commissioner for environment, Hon. Victor Chukwu, has ordered the arrest of some fake sanitation taskforce team officials extorting innocent residents under the guise of working for the state government.
Chukwu, who made the disclosure in Abakaliki, the state capital, said after the arrest, he would handover the perpetrators to the police and declared that the ministry is not saddled with the responsibility of collecting revenue from shop owners.
The commissioner expressed the regret that some persons now move about the state capital and it’s environs asking them to pay the sum of N8,500 for sanitary bucket adding that he did not authorize anybody to go extorting money from anyone.
“We are not into revenue collection. I have to pick some people parading themselves as revenue collectors for the ministry, thereby, asking people to pay for sanitation bucket.
“I have to take them to police and I am going to refund them the people whatever payment they have made to IGR board because they went in disguise to exploit people to a point of asking somebody to pay N8,500 for a sanitary bucket,” he said.
The commissioner said the ministry had directed residents of Abakaliki to bag their waste in a disposable sack and would not in turn send task force to levy them.
“I can’t ask people to bag their waste and at the same time be selling sanitation bucket to them. So, whenever anybody come to your shop asking you to pay, reach me on phone immediately for the person arrest.
“I have tried to sensitive our people, we are not IGR ministry, but for environmental safety ready to offer service to our people. My ministry is not for revenue collection, it’s solely for service to Ebonyi people, anybody coming to you asking for payment in any guise is not just a criminal, that should be apprehended,” he said.
