Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim has said that the black soot menace in the state would come to an end if residents and those doing business in the state take up the fight.
He said the call became necessary as everyone in the state was directly or indirectly threatened by the killer substance.
The Commissioner who spoke while presenting the winner of a theme song competition organized by the ministry in course of the ongoing advocacy campaign codenamed #OurStateOurResponsibility, lamented the destructive effect of ‘kpofire’ on the environment.
“Hardly any day passes by that you won’t get report of incidents of fire outbreak, and investigations have revealed that most of these fire incidents are a result of stockpiling of adulterated petroleum products.
“We cannot be our own enemy. It should concern everyone that apart from the fire hazards that we are experiencing, the health implications of what we are seeing is something that should worry everyone living and doing business in the state”, he said while urging all hands to be on deck to tackle the menace.
The Commissioner also urged security personnel to demonstrate patriotism and refrain from allegedly collecting bribes and allowing carriers of the adulterated petroleum products through check points.
Pastor Nsirim also called on the media to mount aggressive campaign against indulging in kpofire activities as it’s hazards were threatening the existence of the citizenry.
He commended the judges for their professional approach in ensuring that the best was selected out of fifteen entries presented in the theme song competition.
Port Harcourt based-singer/song writer, Barnabas Baridam clinched the contest with his song, ‘Rivers State Na Our Own’, a piece which in decision of the judges had the most of ‘street appeal’
The winner of the theme song smiled home with a cash reward of N300,000.
Mr. Isaiah Kings (stage name, Indiana Tonye) whose song, ‘I love my Rivers State’ gave him a second spot, got N150,000 for his effort, while third place winner, Prince Innocent Ikinga was rewarded a N100,000 with his song, ‘Keep Rivers Clean’.
It would be recalled that Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike had in his New Year broadcast on Saturday vowed to go after illegal bunkery activities in the state.
The governor who directed the Mayor of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Chief Allwell Ihunda to shut down any illegal bunkery areas in the area, appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the state to end black soot presently ravaging parts of the state.
