Residents Complain Over UBTH Dumpsite, Fear Spread Of Diseases

Some residents of the Federal Low Cost Housing Estate along the Federal Government Girls College Road, Ugbowo, Benin City, have raised alarm over fear of possible outbreak of epidemics in the Estate due to the waste dumpsite in the Estate by the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
The residents around the Estate said all efforts to get the hospital’s management to relocate the dumpsite failed hence they decided to cry out to the public to avert any form of epidemic.
Secretary, Landlords Association of the Estate, Dr. Sharlyswest Eboigbe, said letters written to concerned authorities to address the issue did not yield any result.
Lamenting that when it rains, the place becomes an eyesore, Eboigbe noted that hospital waste should not be in the same environment with humans.
“As a matter of fact, where human beings live, waste industry ought not to be there. This has become a problem to us. Since 2019 when we started developing our properties, we have made several efforts through the supervising ministry to see how best they can discuss with people dumping these wastes.
“The primary people dumping these things is UBTH, they dump their hospital waste here. Several attempts made to address this have not yielded result, and that is why we are crying out.
“We don’t come out to take fresh air as expected because of the offensive odour from the dump site.
“When it rains, we see all sorts of things from this place and this is not healthy.
“I met with the Federal Controller on this matter, and he said he has written letters to concerned authorities about this, but we have not seen anything. Even UBTH is claiming that they are doing the right thing.” he added.
Also speaking, Dr. Wilson Osarogiagbon, called for the relocation of the dump site, adding: “We are not here to fight anybody, we are just appealing. If a rat, for instance, runs into our houses, God forbid, that will be a beginning of an epidemic and if that happens, that could spread to various parts of the state.
“The place is already a site for rodents, for reptiles and for mosquitoes. The stench emanating from this dumpsite is an invite to an airborne epidemic.
“We, the landlords have tried our best as regards this, so, we are here to say we cannot stay in such epidemic prone area; that the authorities concerned should help us on this because we cannot live with this, and we do not want to lose any of our landlords.” he stressed.
The residents, appealed to the UBTH management and others concerned authorities to address the issue before it get out of hand.
When contacted, Dr Mrs. Esohe Ogboghodo, deputy chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Research and Ethics, UBTH said the dumpsite has been there long before the occupants came to the area, adding the wastes were not hazardous.