Anambra Sets Ambitious Target To Rank Among Nigeria’s Cleanest States
By DIANA CHUKWUKA
THE Managing Director of the Anambra State Waste Management Agency (ASWAMA), Chief Mike Ozoemena, says the state is intensifying efforts to become one of the three cleanest states in Nigeria. Speaking in Awka, he highlighted the agency’s achievements in the past year and the shift to a decentralised waste management model that places Local Government Councils in charge of operations while ASWAMA and the Ministry of Environment provide oversight.
Ozoemena said Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration launched its environmental transformation with the cleanup of Okpoko in Ogbaru LGA and large-scale drainage desilting in Onitsha. With major cleanup milestones recorded, he said the current focus is maintaining cleanliness across urban centres—an ongoing challenge in a densely populated state.
He disclosed that Anambra is in discussions with three companies on bioenergy and waste-to-wealth partnerships, noting that the state’s daily waste volume—over 4,000 metric tons—is sufficient to power an energy plant. He added that ASWAMA is prioritising high-waste areas like Eke Awka market.
Ozoemena also warned residents against paying sanitation levies in cash, insisting that all payments must be made through approved state government accounts.
