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Still On Abuja Corporate Organizations And The Future Of AEPB By Emeka Oraetoka
Business survives if friends and relations pay their dues – conventional saying.
In my last write-up on the above subject matter, I did say that the partial privatization of AEPB has made it inevitable that for the board to survive, it has to source greater part of its funding itself.
Reports have it that Abuja Environmental Protection Board [AEPB], mobile court, on Tuesday, August 22, 2005, impounded a truck belonging to CBN for dumping waste at an illegal site. The report further stated that the driver of the truck and his two assistants were reminded in prison custody until August 31, when their case would be heard. Information has it that the relationship between AEPB and CBN got sour when CBN refused to settle a N22 million four – year waste collection fee. When the Director General & Chief Executive of AEPB, Hajia Hadiza Abdullahi, raised alarm that corporate organizations were owing the board about N165 million Naira, many lest expected that CBN will be among the debtor outfits, in view of it’s corporate image. They are of the view that the most unfortunate implication of this altercation between Environmental Board and CBN is that it appears to highlight CBN’s transgression of relevant environmental laws, and the attendant wrong signal that could be sent about the current efforts of federal government at reforms and privatization, in terms of intergovernmental relation and financial dealings.
The defence put up by CBN spokesman
appeared to have left in its wake more questions than answers on their
claims in general. Hear the CBN spokesman, Tony Ede: “some years back,
AEPB gave CBN approval to collect and dispose its garbage on its own and
that is what we have been doing. Suddenly we got a letter asking us to pay
It has been reasoned that the impression CBN appeared to send across, via Tony Ede, is that as far as they are concerned, they can only obey FCT environmental laws on their own caprices. They are also creating the idea of not been aware that AEPB has been privatized and under a new management; with the functions hitherto performed by it, being concession to contractors- or how can one reconcile this report: “AEPB requested CBN to engage any of its registered refuse disposal organizations for its offices and residential quarters, the latter refused”. The same CBN, through its spokesman, Tony Ede, categorically stated. “We understand that they are looking for money to pay salaries, which is why they suddenly turned to say we must pay at all cost”. For CBN to have appreciated the fact that AEPB has to pay the salaries of its workers, showed quite clearly that it is aware that the board had been privatized, the question then is: why the refusal in engaging the service of any of these contractors under AEPB, according to the laws.
It is quite curious that CBN which pride itself as the prime player in the area of “Social Responsibility”, even in the area of Environmental Health and Beautification, for which they spent Millions of Naira on, could not even obey simple environmental law in FCT. The debt they owe has even become a matter of: “I will pay when it pleases me” or so it seem.
Emeka Oraetoka. Information Management Consultant. Wrote in from Garki-Abuja. |