The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has hired 40 contractors to keep the Federal Capital City clean.

AEPB’s director, Osilama Braimah, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mr Braimah said the AEPB was up to date in its payment obligation to the contractors, saying, “We have paid them 100 per cent, and no contractor is being owed.”

He explained that the board was responsible for handling waste management and city sanitation in Maitama, Asokoro, Garki, Guzape, Katampe, Wuse, Mabushi, Wuye and other districts within the city centre.

Other areas are Airport Road, all the way to Bill Clinton, airport vicinity, and Central Business District and Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, all the way to Karu axis.

“We are also clearing the city of beggars and maintaining pedestrian bridges to prevent people from using them as markets. We are also responsible for maintaining the sewage system in the city and the sewage treatment plants in Wupa, Guzape, Katampe, and Apo, including the Sewage Pump Station in the city.

“In a nutshell, the AEPB is responsible for the enforcement of all environmental legislations and abatement of all forms of environmental degradation and nuisance.

“The board also regulates the impact of physical development on the ecosystem,” he added.

Mr Braimah said that each of the 40 contractors was assigned a specific area of coverage to evacuate waste and keep the area clean. He, however, said the board sometimes intervenes when the contractors cannot cope with the huge volume of refuse generated daily within the city.

“We have our own team to step in and provide support whenever the contractors fail in their task of evacuating refuse. So, our job is to supervise, but once we give you a job and you don’t perform, we intervene, and when we want to pay, we subtract from the intervention.

“If every day’s work is N200,000, for example, we multiply by the number of days we intervened and subtract from the contractor’s payment,” he said.

The director said contractors have been fulfilling their obligations by keeping Abuja city clean through routine evacuation of refuse dumps every two weeks.

He, however, noted the visible pile of refuse dumps in some parts of satellite towns and area councils, stressing that those areas were not under the jurisdiction of AEPB.

He particularly explained that except for Abuja Municipal Area Council, which AEPB was responsible for, the remaining five councils were not under its purview.

Speaking on noise pollution, Braimah said the AEPB intervenes in the noise pollution from nightclubs, houses, and other public places. He, however, said the board does not have jurisdiction over moving vehicles or motorcycles.

(NAN)