Group Demands Immediate  Withdrawal Of  Abia Waste Management Bill

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development FENRAD, has called on the Abia State authorities, particularly the House of Assembly, to immediately pause all actions on the proposed” Abia State Polluters Pay Principle and Extended Producers Responsibility Bill before the Lawmakers.

The civil rights advocacy group, described the piece of legislation already before the State Legislators as utterly anti-people ,and retrogressive in all ramifications.

The Source reports that the Bill, which the Abia State Government believes will usher in a measure of sanity into the mostly chaotic waste disposal and management framework, has been drawing defeaning flaks from not a few stakeholders.

The political opposition camps ,small scale entrepreneurs and many major industry players have roundly condemned the proposed Bill, as having the dangerous potentials of further worsening the already harsh operating environment for small and medium scale entrepreneurs.

One of the most contentious aspects of the Bill is believed to be its tendency to impose sundry, but harsh fines/ taxes on low income earners, Communities  and business outfits over improper disposal of waste products.

According to the opposition, targeting an already pauperized and vulnerable low income earners and small scale business operators struggling to eke out a living, will further compound their situation, if not completely driving them out of business.

In a statement issued on Monday July 28, 2025, in Aba by its Executive Director Nelson Nnana Nwafor, FENRAD noted that the Bill in its present form, if passed into law, will disproportionately affect the  poor and marginalized groups, potentially exacerbating inequality and undermining ongoing efforts to promote inclusive environmental governance in the State.

“Rather than targeting industrial polluters, extractive companies and major producers,whose operations lead to environmental degradation, the Bill is majorly targeted at the informal sector and everyday waste generators, particularly in undeserved communities”, Nwafor stated.

The human rights advocacy group, while acknowledging the need for the authorities to regulate and control activities that impact on the environment,  however, faulted the introduction of the Bill at a time certain necessary   conditions are  not in place to ensure its  effective and just implementation.

“While we recognize the importance of environmental accountability and the global shift towards extended producer responsibility, EPR, and polluter-pays mechanisms as frameworks for sustainable waste management, the current bill, in both its design and intent, lacks transparency, public participation, and clarity.

“More disturbing, it appears tailored towards transferring the economic burden of environmental remediation and waste management from major industrial polluters to ordinary citizens and vulnerable population who are often victims, not perpetrators of environmental degradation.

“The Bill fails to adequately define who qualifies as a ‘polluter or producer’ in its current form. It leaves too much room for arbitrary interpretation and application which could unjustly penalize small businesses, and low income communities.

“A Bill of such socio-economic and environmental impact must be preceded by public consultations, and stakeholder engagements.

To our knowledge,no town hall meetings , environmental impact assessments ,or civil society consultations were held prior to drafting ,and tabling if this Bill .

Abia state currently lacks the robust waste management infrastructure and institutional oversight framework required to enforce an” Extended Producers Responsibility regime effectively.

Without such systems in place, the bill may become a tool for arbitrary taxation or harassment by enforcement agencies”, FENRAD noted.

Consequently, the group called for its immediate withdrawal to allow for wider consultations and more inputs.

It urged the Government to urgently convene public hearings and multi-stakeholders’ consultative fora involving environmental groups, local Communities, informal sector representatives and legal experts to discuss the way forward.