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The Abia State Government arrested 66 people, including a 109-year-old akara seller, during Saturday’s environmental sanitation exercise, marking the first such clean-up in three months.
The elderly woman, Ma Chidinma Eluwa, who sells akara on Owerri Road, was discharged without any fine and assured authorities of future compliance.
Seven other defaulters were released on health and student-related grounds, while nine were assigned community service.
The exercise, which had been paused for three months, revealed significant waste accumulation, particularly at Orie Ugba Market and other major markets, officials said.
Commissioner for Environment Philemon Ogbonna, represented by Head of Population Control and Environmental Health Happiness Akpulonu said low compliance may force the government to shift from advisory to enforcement-based approaches.
Residents in Umuahia respond better to enforcement than advice, Akpulonu said.
Lawmaker Kalu Mba-Nwoke, who chairs the House Committee on Environment, urged residents to adopt daily cleaning habits rather than waiting for government directives.
Northern community leader Alhaji Yaro Danladi reaffirmed his community’s support for the initiative, adding that clean environments help prevent diseases such as malaria by reducing mosquito breeding sites.
He commended Governor Alex Otti and urged all residents to embrace the exercise as a shared responsibility.
