Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on residents of Abia State to imbibe the culture of keeping their environment clean at all times.

Governor Otti spoke on Saturday while leading members of the State Executive Council and other appointees to participate in this month’s clean up exercise in some parts of Umuahia.

He said, the essence of leading members of his cabinet to take part in the excercise was to mobilise Abians on the need to clean their environment.

The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, while expressing joy that a lot of people participated in the excercise, rated today’s excercise as a success as people identified with the clean up.

According to him, it was good to engage the people rather than harassing or coercing them, saying that, that is in line with the principle of inclusiveness of the Otti’s administration.

He however noted that going forward, there would be repercussions for defaulters of the excercise and reminded citizens that the task of rebuilding Abia State is a collective one.

In their remarks, the Commissioner for Environment and Urban Renewal, Mr. Philemon Ogbonna, and his Information and Culture counterpart, Prince Okey Kanu, described the exercise as impressive, saying that it was part of keeping Abia clean.

They urged Abians to join hands with the administration of Dr. Alex Otti to achieve a sustained clean environment. They said going forward, every motor park or market that opens during the excercise would be sanctioned as it is not going to be business as usual.

The General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), Mr. Ogbonnia Okereke, noted that there has been remarkable improvement in refuse management since the inception of the Dr. Otti’s administration and assured that it would be sustained.

A press release signed by Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor, said the exercise which took the government officials to Isigate, Aba Road, Owerri Road, Uzuakoli road, Azikiwe road, Adelabu Street, among others, witnessed impressive turn out of people.