By Ben Kati
The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has begun plans to curb proliferation of expired tyres in the Federal Capital Territory.
Acting Director of the Board, Engr. Osilama Braimah directed the officials to check and remove the used tyres with immediate effect from the city.
A statement issued by the board Public Relations Officer, Janet Peni said that since the commencement of the exercise, over 3000 used tyres has been removed with many more to be removed.
Osilama said “used tyres are waste materials, but Nigerians tend to use them to enforce no parking rules, demarcate areas they don’t want pedestrians to walk through or pass by.
“As I earlier stated, expired tyres are waste materials that have no business being in modern cites. This is why we have started to remove them and we want to encourage people who want to enforce no parking rules, to use traffic cones or have standard signage in place in their buildings or premises or perimeters, instead of making use of spent tyres.
“These worn out tyres are a double nuisance to our environment. Firstly, they are very unsightly. I dare say that you can’t see worn out tyres put to such use in modern cities across the globe, except in Abuja. Secondly, they also have public health implications because they hold water which becomes breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
“I am using this medium to appeal to everyone in the FCC, particularly those who make use of worn out tyres, to remove them, and discontinue such practice and instead, to simply use cones for indicating and enforcing no parking areas in your facilities.
“A few weeks back, if you go around the city, there are tyres placed as barricades, mostly by some security agencies and in some offices. Such tyres constitute a nuisance within the city and they will be removed completely. We have divided the city into five different districts, and have carried out removal exercises within Apo, Central Area, Asokoro and then we have covered up to the Airport road as well. This is a continuous exercise, till every single used tyre is removed.”
