The Imo State House of Assembly has passed a bill repealing the Imo Waste Management Act No. 5 of 2020 and enacted a bill establishing the Eastern Waste Management Incorporated.
The bill, sponsored by the Majority Leader, Mr. Kanayo Onyemaechi (Owerri West), was presented and read for the second and third time during the plenary session on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
At the second reading, Onyemaechi said the bill would address the waste management challenges in the state, when assented to, by instituting a reliable waste management system for the optimal benefit of the people of the state.
Onyemaechi said that waste management posed a problem in the state with the indiscriminate dumping of garbage on the streets without any action from the waste management agency.
He also said that the bill seeks to bring in a reputable company to partner with the waste management agency in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to manage the situation.
Onyemaechi further said that the arrangement would not only manage the problem of improper waste disposal but also provide job opportunities, given that the partners would require hands for their equipment and waste recycling.
Onyemaechi said that the initiative would help to ensure cleanliness in the state, especially during the rainy season.
Supporting the bill, Mr. Innocent Ikpamezie (APC-Mbaitoli), commended Gov. Hope Uzodimma for his effort to make the state the cleanest in the country.
Ikpamezie said that the bill would ensure the creation of a more environmentally-friendly state, while creating more jobs for the people.
He underscored the need to take care of the environment to check the outbreak of diseases directly linked to dirt and unsanitary environments.
Also speaking in favour of the bill, Mr. Okechukwu Udeze (APC Ideato-North) described it as timely, adding that incorporating the private sector to provide a functional waste management system would help to ensure proper waste disposal.
He also said that recycling would help the state to generate revenue and boost the economy.
Another lawmaker, James Esile (APC-Onuimo), commended the governor for the plan to turn waste into wealth, adding that the initiative would bring about more development to the state.
Following the second reading, the bill was further scrutinised at the Committee of the Whole House, presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Chike Olemgbe.
It was then passed after a unanimous vote in its favour by members at the session.
The speaker, thereafter, directed the Clerk, Mrs. Chinelo Emeghara, to send a clean copy of the bill to the governor for his assent.
By Ugonne Uzoma