By Godwin Anene
The Rivers State Government on Thursday warned residents of the state against the spate and indiscriminate dumping of stillborns particularly in public waste disposal receptacles in Port Harcourt and its environs.
Sole Administrator of Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Bro Felix Obuah, who decried the development, warned that anyone caught in the act would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Obuah, who raised the alarm following the discovery of a stillbirth by the officials of the agency in one of the receptacles at Elelenwo axis of Port Harcourt during his regular monitoring exercise, said the development is unacceptable.
Obuah who doubles as Chairman, Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) screamed that, “The rate at which unwanted and still-born babies are dumped at receptacles across the state is alarming, irritating and worrisome.
“This is abominable, uncouth and cruel. Those involved in this unwholesome behaviour are not only nuisance to the society, but also murderers.”
“Receptacles are for domestic wastes and not burial grounds or mortuaries and should be used strictly for what they are lawfully provided for.”
He advised expectant mothers to take advantage of the numerous health centres health centers across the state for antenatal and delivery, describing dumping unwanted babies or stillborns at receptacles as grave offence before God and man.
