Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas retired, says the state government is committed to policies that support cleaner environments and sustainable livelihood for the people.
Vice Admiral Ibas stated this during the conclave and launch of 2nd edition of the Waste to Wealth Packaging and Safety Summit 2025 in PortHarcourt.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Rivers Ministry of Environment, Mr Alwell Okereuku, he said the State was aware of the growing challenges posed by poor waste management which affects public health.
The Administrator said that he hopes the summit billed for October, would afford experts opportunities to profer solutions on waste recycling and management as well as unveil new technologies for sustainable packaging solutions that matches the growing population.
” They degrade our soil, water quality and compromise the beauty and functionality of our cities. Amidst these concerns are opportunities to innovate, create jobs protect the environment and stimulate the green economy,” Administrator Ibas stated.
” Innovators and entrepreneurs, I encourage you to continue to push boundaries. Let your solutions be driven not just by profit but by purpose, by a desire to build a safer , clean and more resilient environment for the future generations. The development partners, government agencies and civil society groups; let us align our efforts and harmonise our strategies. Waste management is a collective responsibility” Ibas stated.
The Zonal Director of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency NESREA, Mrs. Angela Iwodi who was represented by Mr. Victor Odiba said the rate at which waste is generated will increase with human population, rekindling the need to look for modalities to reduce it.
” Waste is big money, its business opportunity. People are already making money from it investing into it and I call on all and sundry to find a place they can play active role in this emerging and evolving business. So the Summit will create more awareness and you’ll see, it becomes a very competitive market. Before long, Port Harcourt becomes a very clean city where you’ll look for waste, especially plastics and you’ll not find them” the ZD said.
The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Patrick Uduma speaking on the theme, Beyond Waste: Value, Sustainability, Circularity and Safety; reiterated the need to educate the public an the need for the industries to get involved in issues of single use plastics.
Uduma noted, ” We invest so much in evacuation, much awareness is also required. Management should begin from homes and hairs, clothing and shoe recycling should also commence.”
Earlier, the Chancellor, Waste to Wealth Packaging and Safety Summit, Sir Daminabo Atuboyedia in his address referred to the world population day which coincidentally was on 11 July, 2025, urging everyone to reduce their waste from the family level and on individuals, multinationals and government to partner them on the Waste to Wealth Summit.
“We invite individuals, governmentspokesman and organisations who share our vision to partner us. Your financial contributions are vital to convey the extensive logistics and operational aspects of the event of this magnitude, ensuring we can bring together leading experts and offer a world class experience for all practitioners” the WWPAS Chancellor said.
The summit is from 7 to 9 October, 2025 at the Golden Tulip Hotel in PortHarcourt and the speakers are drawn from Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Bayelsa, Delta, Niger and Rivers States while for the first time, will be in attendance, the climate change in Abuja from the CEO to everyone all will make paper presentation.
The launch of WWPAS2025 brought together stakeholder in the industry and the partners include University of PortHarcourt, Ignatius Ajuru University, Cifal, Unitar, Dominion, HYPREP, NIRMAPT, AIOPPN, SALMHI, Bank of Industry among others.
One of the highpoints of the event was the award of honour to Sir Daminabo Atuboyedia by the Lion’s Club of PortHarcourt Crystal.
