Waste Management  Oyo Govt Signs Pact On Technological Advancement

Recently, the socio-political group in South West Geo-political Zone, Afenifere accused Oyo State Government of squandering   N9.3billion on waste management project by signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with America-based company. But in this interview with RAJI ADEBAYO, Oyo State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Alhaji Majekodunmi Aborode, shed more light on the proposed project. He highlighted the situation of  the project and took a swipe at Afenifere on the allegation levelled against the state government on the said project, converting wastes to generate  electricity and ethanol. Excerpts.

Can you tell us the benefits of the  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Oyo State Government through the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and ZIA Metharlugical based in US to convert refuse to ethanol, thereby generating electricity?
This particular project has generated a lot of political antics whereby Afenifere levelled malicious allegation against Oyo State Government. So, before answering your question. there is need for me to react, this is socio- political organisation well respected in Yoruba land.
If they are not sure of their facts and figures, we expected them to come up and ask questions before making their personal conviction. The allegation in question is not only wicked but malicious and libelous. It is also unfounded, but one thing is sure that this administration will continue to be on the path of righteousness. I want them to understand one thing that the administration of Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala is a manifest one, and whatever God has offered nobody can withhold it neither anybody can denied it there no appeal against God wishes.
The Afenifere was just engaging themselves in a shadow boxing and I want them to equally understand that the evil men do lives after them, if they don't hear about good things about this administration, definitely you are going to hear about them and we are all going to stand on history one day, history will definitely give us the vision of direction.
On this issue of Zia Methalurgical processing in Dallas, it was alleged that Oyo State Government transacted a business with ZEER methodological processing which is quite different from the one we are signing MoU with. I don't know what they are talking about, the issue of N9.3billion, I don't know where they got their information from.
Zia in US visited Nigeria last year July that is July 2007. Their first point of call was Lagos State to do business with Lagos State Government in term of converting their refuse to generate electricity and ethanol. When they carried out visibility test on the refuse generated in Lagos, Zia observed that this might not serve their purpose. They now travelled to Kano State as well on the same subject matter, they also observed that kind of waste been generated in Kano in terms of composition might not serve their plant.
They are just going up and down carrying out their visibility study, at end of the day they ended up here in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, they met with the executive governor of the state and expressed their interest and governor accepted, then we came down to my office together with my Permanent Secretary and engineer, rub minds together and they  found out that the kind of refuse we are generating in Ibadan is super- normal and is good to feed their plants, hence, we signed the first leg of the agreement here in Nigeria in July 2007 .
Some months later the state government was invited to Dallas to sign a definitive agreement with ZIA. Like I said ZIA, USA is the invertor of the latest technology capable of converting waste to generate electricity. Getting to Dallas we visited their plant in Oregon in America, there is a similar plant in China owned by ZIA. Oyo State was the only  and the first state in Africa that was allowed to sign the definitive agreement and the agreement stipulated clearly that no other state in Africa  should be allowed to sign another  agreement with ZIA, US.
So, any state in Nigeria or Africa that is interested in the similar project has to come through Oyo State and this project would have cost Oyo State $80 million but they said (ZIA) they have the money but the only contribution on the part of Oyo State Government is a dump site where to site their plant and also $5 million to show our commitment and seriousness.
In that regard, we now invited Zenith Bank and Bank PHB to access the situation and advice the state government on financial implication. The Bank PHB wrote its report, the Zenith Bank also wrote its report and we forwarded everything to the governor for consideration and approval of the Executive Council because the money involved above the limit of his excellency, so it requires the approval of the Executive Council.
Up till now, I have not even make the presentation at the Executive Council talkless of awarding contract to any America base company.
What are the benefits of this agreement?
This MoU has three components benefit for Oyo State. Number one, community benefit in terms of clean, healthier and safer Oyo State. Secondly, full employment generation for our people here, because they ZIA are going to employ our people into the plant when it eventually takes off and thirdly above all a kind of revenue generation for Oyo State Government because Oyo State will benefit 30 percent equity for life as long as  that project live.
Those are issues fundamentally and we are doing this thing to rebrand  the city of Ibadan as one of the neatest cities and also to invite the private sector because the issue of waste management is very expensive for any government to handle. What we are  getting from federation account in term of revenue, if we expended it into waste management,  will gulp it all, hence , the idea of incursion of private sector initiative because the situation now in waste management is like two side of a coin, you cannot protect one side and leave other side unprotected.
This will create a big vacuum, government cannot do it alone. In terms of cleaning environment we have been talking about, in our quest efforts of all the stakeholders, every hand must be on deck. Government has a duty to perform, the people of Oyo State do have a duty to perform as well. So it is a kind of collaborative efforts for us to be able to sustain this tempo.
When does it become a crime to an  enduring legacy that can stand the test of time, when does it become a crime for the people of Oyo State, the present generation and generation yet unborn?
Government has a seal and to leave a legacy that can stand the test of a time. And there is need for people to realize one thing most importantly, that the administration of Otunba Alao- Akala is very pragmatic, very strong and beyond the ordinary.
What is the health implication of this plant on the people of the area where to be sited?
We are talking in terms of modern technology capable of converting our wastes to generate electricity and ethanol, and they have a system whereby it will clean the environment where the plant is going to be situated, it  is a fantastic technology I have  ever seen in my life. It is highly hygienic, so there is no cause for alarm in term of the health of the people in the area where the plant is going to be situated.