By Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt 

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has threatened to seal shops and business areas, whose premises are littered with wastes.

The governor, who on Thursday spoke during an unscheduled inspection of four ongoing flyover projects in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor local governments, said he took the decision following the carefree attitude of the public towards sanitation.

He said the state would be cleaner if owners of business premises did not litter them with refuse.Wike said his administration had the political will to implement the directive because it would result in a change of behaviour and increase attention on sanitation

.He said: “Those at Aba road axis of the Rumuola area will be the first victims. Thereafter, others will follow, so that people will know that government is very serious.

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”Those who litter their areas with  refuse will have themselves to blame. This is not the time people will tell you that the economy is bad. If the economy is bad, does it mean that you’ll sell your goods and litter the places with refuse?”Why do you have to litter the area with wastes, thinking that the government will come and clean them for you? No. Nobody will do that any longer.

”The flyover projects inspected by the governor  are the Rumuola,  GRA junction, Orochiri/Wurukwo and Oru-Abali flyovers.The governor frowned on the operation of illegal parks and other illegal trading activities around the ongoing  flyover projects.

He said such activities did not speak well of the state investing huge resources to enhance the status of the capital city and improve commerce.”We have taken a decision that we are going to barricade off, and stop operations of unnecessary motor parks that are springing up. We want to make sure that people know that they cannot just wake up in the morning and decide to take government space and use as their private park,” he said.

Wike restated the commitment of his administration to work in advancing the state and improving the quality of living of Rivers people.

The governor said his administration would honour the social contract reached with Rivers people since 2015 to provide them good governance and quality infrastructure.