Rabiu Omaku
The Federal Government in a concerted effort to ensure a hygienic environment has promised to accord incentive to the cleanest city by awarding grant to states, the minister of environment Hajiya Amina Mohammed said the effort was to enable such city sustain the tempo of environmental sanitation.
The minister added that grant would also be extended to the private sector willing to participate in cleaning the Environment; she affirmed that the decision to reintroduce the monthly exercise was approved by the council following observation on the menace of poor solid waste management and sanitation issues.
Hajiya Amina Mohammed stated this on Saturday in Lafia while briefing newsmen at the end of the 10th National Council on Environment hinted that the ministry was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the private sector to provide toilet facilities in public places with a view to stopping open defecation in the country by 2020.
She further maintained that the monthly exercise facilities would be provided in public places and all transit system corridors to encourage citizens participation in keeping the environment clean. Reintroduced the national monthly environmental sanitation exercise in view of the growing menace of indiscriminate waste disposal in the country.
She however, explained that there are some modification to the exercise, especially as it regards to limitation to the freedom of movement of citizens across the country.
The Minister said sanitation desks would be established in all the local government areas in the country to monitor and measure the level of cleanliness of every city throughout the year and come with an award for the cleanest city.
Amina Mohammed maintained that as part of its “Clean and Green” initiative to address the menace of indiscriminate disposal of plastic and polythene bags, the ministry would partnering with the private sector to achieve their goal.
“Our initiatives on waste to wealth are two pronged – protecting the environment from pollution and at the same time creating entrepreneurs in waste management and alternative cleaner energy sources,” Mohammed said.
She said that there is an Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) framework for all plastics companies were expected to collect the wastes and recycle them.
“However, the companies might not be able to reach all nooks and crannies of the society, as such there is need to give incentives to people willing to collect the waste and deposit at designated sites thereby giving them a source of livelihood, ” She added.
The National Executive Council also approved the banning of illegal cutting down of economic trees especially species of Mandarin in Taraba state,she however opined that the country looses three million trees daily to illegal lumbering going in some states.
The minister asserted that the banning was meant to regain our shelter belt,others also include on how to reduce the menace of gas flaring by 2019,reducing emission ,fighting gully erosion and flood as well extreme wheather.
“government have taken a drastic measure by the adoption and deployment of energy,technologies for climate change mitigation,
The 10th National Council on Environment was tagged ” Environment and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria: Empowering People, Taking Climate Action and Protecting the Environment.”the NCE was chaired by the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed had in attendance all Commissioners of Environment from all states of the federation, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) amongst other stakeholders.
