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Tag: Mrs. Laurentia Mallam

  • Govt reviews sanitation policy

    Govt reviews sanitation policy

    The Federal Government has begun the review of the National Environmental Sanitation policy, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, has said.

    Mrs. Mallam, in a statement by the Deputy Director (Press), Bem Goong, said the review was imperative because some information contained in the NES policy, which was developed and inaugurated 10 years ago, have fallen short of international best practices and are inhibiting sound public health.

    She spoke in Abuja during the inauguration of an Inter-Ministerial Committee on NES.

    She said: “With the current trend of developmental challenges and advent of new areas of sanitation practice, it is absolutely imperative for Nigeria to review the existing NES policy in order to comply with international best practices and also to harmonise grey areas that are of concern to stakeholders for the overall maintenance of sound public health.

    “The ministry is in the process of reviewing these documents to re-strategise on all goals and implement plans for National Environmental Sanitation.”

    Mallam said it was sad that environmental sanitation across the country had been relegated to the background, and stressed that many families hardly comply whenever it was time for the regular monthly sanitation as observed in many states.

    She said the cross cutting dimension of environmental sanitation issues, and the magnitude of its problems, call for collective responsibility for Nigeria.

    Mrs Mallam said it was against this background that the existing membership of the standing inter-ministerial committee for National Environmental Sanitation Day is being broadened to incorporate more stakeholders.

  • Fed Govt to sanction companies with fake EIA certificate

    Fed Govt to sanction companies with fake EIA certificate

    The Federal Government has threatened to sanction any erring company, local or multinational, that parades Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) certificate  not duly issued by it.

    There has been a lingering tussle between National Environmental Standards  and Regulations Enforcement Agency(NESREA) and State  Ministries and Environmental agencies over the enforcement of the EIA, until it was settled through a landmark judgement of the Appeal Court in December 2014

    The EIA law was enacted to regulate development processes that may directly or indirectly impact negatively on the environment. By the Act, no industrial plan, development or activity can be executed without prior consideration of the environmental consequences of such proposed project.

    Speaking on the landmark judgement in Abuja, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, stated that it was the duty of the ministry to issue EIA anywhere across the country while NESREA was statutorily empowered to enforce compliance.

    The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Nana Mede, therefore  insisted that henceforth the ministry would   give punishment to any company that parades EIA certificate not issued by it.

    She stated: “It is the responsibility of the Federal Mi is try of Environment to oversee the conduct of an EIA process by a proponent, including the issuance of Environmental Impact Assessment certificate.

    “The statutory responsibility of NESREA is to ensure that EIA process is carried out and that the elements/issues identified in the EIA certificate are complied with, as well as to ensure that the environmental audits are carried out in line with the extant regulations and guidelines.”

    She insisted that the process of EIA could not be compromised, adding that it was mandatory for any company or regulated community to embark on process before embarking on any development project with potential negative effect on the environment.

    In this regards, the minister called on all individuals, corporate bodies and state environmental authorities to cooperate fully with NESREA in the enforcement of the provisions of the EIA Act and other extant environmental laws and regulations.

    Reacting, NESREA Director General, Dr. Lawrence Anuka, said that the judgement was key to the realization of the agency’s mandate.

  • Minister lauds agency over desertification

    The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, has praised the National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) for the development of shelterbelts in the North to curb desertification.

    She spoke at a stakeholders forum organised by NAGGW in Katsina State, last week.

    Mrs Mallam praised the agency’s for providing improved seedlings, alternative cooking devices and potable water to the communities within the GGW corridor; development and management of orchards and other measures that have helped to reduce desertification scourge in the North.

    The minister, represented by the coordinator of the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) Kano, Mr. Ado Saminu,  said she was glad to be part of the steady and progressive activities of the young and dynamic National Agency for Great Green Wall. She further noted that the determination, commitment and focus in the pursuit of excellence as well as the symbolic relationship in the management and harnessing of land resources for the betterment of the people was vital to the achievement of success in the fight against desertification in the north.

    She explained that the GGW programme is a holistic approach being undertaking in which stakeholders are encouraged to contribute their quotas through popular participation.

    The Katsina State Commissioner for Environment, Abdullahi Aliyu, disclosed that the state has established 26 kilometers of shelterbelts, and assured that the state will support the federal government’s efforts at fighting desertification and environmental degradation challenges in the north.

    The Director-General, NAGGW, Mr. Goni Ahmed, who was represented by Head, Community Mobilisation and Sensitisation, NAGGW, Hajia Bintu Kolo Mohammed, said the outcome of the conference will be handy in addressing the status, challenges and prospects of the NAGGW, in other to ensure that it contributes to sustainable development through employment creation, product development, income generation and poverty reduction.

  • ‘Accelerate dispensation of environmental justice’

    ‘Accelerate dispensation of environmental justice’

    The Federal Government yesterday urged the Judiciary and other agencies to ensure quick dispensation of environmental justice in the country.

    The government said there was need to create awareness on the importance and effective implementation of environmental laws.

    Minister of Environment Mrs. Laurentia Mallam spoke in Abuja at the second national sensitisation workshop for judges and other law enforcement officers.

    The workshop was organised by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

    Mrs Mallam said the workshop would explore best options for effective enforcement of regulations and standards  and timely prosecution of environmental crimes.

    The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Rabi Jimeta, said: “The main objective of this second sensitisation workshop is to strengthen the enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, standards and guidelines in Nigeria through the sensitisation and retooling of the Judiciary and other law enforcement agencies.

    “It will build partnerships and synergies within and among the Judiciary and law enforcement agencies for the speedy dispensation of environmental justice in Nigeria.

    “It also requires adequate sensitisation and retooling of those who will interpret and enforce the laws as well as adequate public participation in the implementation of such laws.”

     

     

    Mallam explained that attaining sustainable development will require the dispensation of environmental justice to promote environmental governance.

    She noted that laws and regulations enacted in the past suffered gravely from weak enforcement because of inadequate institutional arrangements, as well as poor education and awareness of those who are expected to implement the laws.

    The minister said: “For environmental laws to be continuously relevant in the society, it will entail the existence of a sound legal framework to support effective and robust institutions that will regulate and enforce such laws.

    “The federal government has created an institutional mechanism, including legal framework for environmental governance in Nigeria. The purpose is to achieve sustainable development and at the same time protect the environment and human health.

    “Environmental governance includes the development and implementation of appropriate environmental policies, laws, regulations and standards that integrate natural resource protection and management initiatives.”

    The Director–General NESREA, Dr. Ngeri Benebo said there was need to attend to environmental crime expeditiously.

    According to her, environmental crime has moved on to a very grievous dimension internationally.

    She said: “Because globally, environmental crime has become a serious global crime that International Police (INTERPOL) is very much involved in it. The judiciary is very much involved in it. Globally, environmental law is coming up on every international discourse.”

     

     

  • Ebola: ‘Lagos, Abuja have implicated animals’

    The Federal Government has said that Lagos, Abuja and a few major cities across Nigeria are areas where animals implicated in the spread of the deadly Ebola virus are found in large numbers.

    The government said it had started a survey to ascertain the distribution of these animals, especially the fruit bats, in the urban centres where they are found.

    The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, disclosed that the federal government was focusing on controlling the animals in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.

    Mallam, in a statement made available to reporters in Abuja by the ministry’s Deputy Director Press, Bem Gong, said: “The control of animals implicated in the spread of this disease, especially fruit bats, which are so numerous in many of our urban cities such as Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, to mention but a few, is now our major focus.

    “We have started a survey of their distribution in Abuja where we have found a substantial population in Wuse area, the Three Arms Zone and some areas of Maitama District and Kubwa. We have equally commenced a similar survey in other states and towns in order that we may implement a comprehensive exercise.

    “We are also in touch with the various states of the federation for the implementation of massive disinfestations of homes, offices, hospitals, hotels and indeed public places infested with bats, rats and other pests.”

    Mallam said another area of great concern is in the management of Nigeria’s healthcare wastes at various hospitals in the country.

    She said: “In most cases and in many places, healthcare wastes are combined with other municipal wastes and disposed at open dumps indiscriminately. Even where their exposure remains hazardous and perilous, the menace of scavengers in healthcare wastes are indeed harmful and potential source of Ebola virus disease.

    “A very perturbing and critical area in the spread of Ebola virus disease is through contact with fomites and personal articles of persons exposed to the disease. We honestly wish to encourage the disinfection of fomites and homes where the disease has occurred.”

     

     

  • Nigeria lacks capacity to tackle marine pollution – FG

    The Federal Government on Friday said Nigeria currently lacks the capacity to handle marine pollution.

    However, the government admitted that marine pollution was not common to Nigeria alone, saying that even the developed nations suffer from the same problem.

    The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam, said this in Abuja when she received a letter of approval for Nigeria to host the Regional Coordinating Centre to combat marine pollution in West, Central, and Southern Africa.

    The letter was delivered to the Minister by the Executive Secretary, Abidjan Convention, Mr. Abou Bamba during a courtesy visit at the ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi.

    Mallam said Nigeria lacks the capabilities, technology, and manpower to handle problems posed by marine pollution.