Environment Day: Groups call on government to evolve policy for safer environment
By Oboh Linus
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and Association of Small Scale Agro and Producers in Nigeria, in collaboration with Oxfam have called on Nasarawa State Government to evolve policies and actions to ensure safer environment.
The group made a call during a road walk to the Nasarawa state Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on Wednesday in Lafia, to comommerate World Environment Day.
Mr Ango Adamu, Executive Secretary, YMCA Mada Hills who spoke for the groups, said they were in the Ministry to express their supports on what the ministry was doing in relation to climate change and other environmental issues.
Adamu explained that the 2023 World Environment Day with a theme: “Beat Plastic Pollution” was a reminder to the ministry of environment, the state, Nigeria and the world that people’s actions on plastic matters.
According to him, it is a known fact that over 400 million tons of plastic were being produced every year around the world and meant be used only once, only about 10 percent was reused or recycled.
Adamu said that about 90 percent of un-recycled plastic end up in the streams, rivers, lakes and eventually oceans thereby polluting environment.
“These plastics released a lot of toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment because it contained hazardous substances which are threat to human and marine lives.
“We request that the ministry should advise the state government to team up with the federal ministry of environment to translate plastic solution commitment to concrete solution that can create job opportunity for our youths.
“The Ministry should also liaise with the national policy on waste management through federal ministry of environment to construct plastic recycling plant that can contain plastic waste in the state,” he said.
Adamu called on government, business owners and civil society to work together and take action to reduce plastic waste so that a healthy and safer environment could be achieved.
Responding, Mr Yusuf Madiko, Permanent Secretary, state ministry of environment, said the care for environment could not be over emphasis given that whatever affects environment affects humans and marine lives.
Madiko said in the light of this, the Nasarawa state government introduced monthly sanitation and banned the use of charcoal as part of measure to curtail indiscriminate falling of trees.
The permanent Secretary, while thanking YMCA and others for the good job done in state, said the state had established waste factory at Angwan Rere, Lafia local government, noting that once it fully takes up it would cater for recycling of waste.
