ANAMBRA State civil servants have made passionate appeal to the state government for provision of functional conveniences at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat Complex, Awka.

They also urged for improved water reticulation at the complex.

The workers decried poor state of toilets and a lack of water supply to the complex, which they said, compel them to ease themselves in nearby bushes and drainage channels.

They commended the state government for injecting maintenance culture in governance, while drawing attention to the stench oozing out from adjourning bushes and drainages as a result of human wastes deposited there.

According to them, the stench from bushes poses danger to the environment and health condition of workers.

Tony Ezenwaka, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Diaspora Matters, hailed the state government for embarking on the refurbishment exercise, which should include fixing the conveniences too.

“The renovation and upgrading of the secretariat will have a great impact on the people working here. It will impact positively in their productivity because they are happy with the environment.

“There is still need for government to fix the toilets and provide new ones for visitors. Another thing is for people to make good use of the toilets,’’ Ezenwaka added.

He, then, urged government to expedite action in that regard just as he made a call for construction of additional building within the complex to provide offices for teeming workers.

Livinus Udemba, a reverend father and the head of Administration, Ministry of Transport, described as embarrassing the practice whereby workers run into the bushes to defecate.

“In fact you cannot imagine the kind of stench when the wind blows, especially during harmattan periods; you cannot stay here.

“It is really affecting the offices but before now when the Secretariat was newly built, in the first two years all the systems were all working,’’ he said.

Udemba pleaded with the government and the contractor handling the renovation project to incorporate fixing of the toilets and provision of water into the secretariat.

Ijeoma Onyekwelu, an Environmental Health officer with the Ministry of Environment, urged the government to fix the toilets for proper disposal of human wastes.

“Since they are doing general renovation, I want them to use this opportunity to fix the toilets. Let them work on the systems, so that we will have a conducive environment.

“When a staff falls sick, then it will be a loss of manpower and economic waste on the part of government. So, you see the reason why the toilets need to be in perfect condition,’’ she added

Onyekwelu noted that the reticulation of water to various offices in the Secretariat Complex was critical for a healthy and clean environment, needed for optimum performance of workers.

– Jan. 22, 2019 @ 15:45 GMT |