From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Imo State government has denied news reports claiming that it is imposing fines on users of solar panels or generators in the state.
It noted that while the government has the responsibility to ensure the environmental safety of citizens, it has never contemplated sanctioning anyone for using either solar panels or generators.
The State Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation, and Strategy, Hon, Declan Emelumba, deplored the unprofessional manner in which the authors of the fake story set out to tarnish the image of the Imo State government for no just cause.
He noted that the story, which had been trending on social media, “lumped Imo State with another state, which categorically instituted that policy “
“Of course, the publishers of the mischievous story could not attribute it to any official of the Imo State government because we don’t have such a policy in place,” he explained.
According to him, ” the story merely mentioned an imposition of two million Naira fine on one Nneoma bakery for various environmental infractions accumulated over the past three years without being specific “
Emelumba described the publication as the figment of the imagination of the authors to attract attention to themselves ” and in the process,” devaluing the practice of journalism “
The Commissioner disclosed that the state government has even gone beyond who uses any alternative source of energy, as it is on the verge of providing an uninterrupted power supply to the people of the state.
“We have gone far in our bid to provide power supply 24/7 across the state for us to bother with who uses solar panels or generators,” he said.
He urged the public to disregard the misleading story, as the government at no point in time imposed any levy on those using alternative energy sources.
