WARRI—EPIDEMIC is looming in Warri, Delta State as heaps of refuse have taken over major areas in the oil city.

Areas most affected according to investigation by Vanguard include the populous Okurede Urhobo and parts of Ogunu communities, consequently, some residents are gripped with fear of contacting strange diseases.

However, the people of Warri South Local Government Area, have commended the private company (Alate Waste Enterprise) engaged for waste collection for effective performance, saying that they will not succumb to intimidation by a non-existing State Employment and Expenditure for Result, SEEFOR agent, who claims responsibility for waste collection in their area.

Addressing newsmen after a meeting of some prominent chiefs, sons and daughters of Okurode community in Warri over an alleged threat by yet to be identified SEEFOR agent, Chief Godwin Okorodudu, the Unur’ Vwodo of Okurode community, called on the state Commissioner for Environment, Mr  John Nani and the Delta State Government not to pay any agent that claims to be responsible for waste collection in their community for doing nothing.

Chief Okorodudu said that the community was not aware of any SEEFOR agent coming to their community for waste collection but a private company engaged by them for that purpose, adding that they have an arrangement with Alate Waste Enterprise to come three times in a week for waste collection, an arrangement they claimed had met their waste disposal needs.

“Some time last year, we saw some SEEFOR trucks in our community but they didn’t discuss with us on any issue but for about eight months, we have not been seeing them, consequently our community chairman and prominent sons arranged for a private company to be collecting waste from  us. Since they introduced him, he has been functioning well because we took a date with him to come three times a week to save residents from contacting strange disease,”he said.