WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF RIVERS STATE WASTE MANAGEMENT AGENCY

The Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) has come under criticisms from the residents of the State for the inability of the Agency to discharge its statutory obligations to the citizens, particularly, residents of the Port Harcourt metropolis. The study examined waste management policy implementation in Nigeria, with a study of the role of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency in perspectives. The study adopted secondary source of data collection and the Environmentally Responsible Behaviour (ERB) and Environmental Citizenship Model (ECM) as a theoretical framework. Also, content analysis was utilized as a method of data analysis. The study explored the effectiveness of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency in solid waste management. The study observed that there is a relationship between policy design and efficient management of the Agency, but noted that few institutional challenges like the inefficiency of vendors, poor public awareness and education, absence of a landfill amongst others hampered the attainment of some of the goals of the Agency and recommends administrative reforms that would include full commercialization of the Agency for wealth creation, better public awareness, establishment of a landfill, amongst others as a panacea for efficient waste management in the State.