Federal government on Monday inaugurated new programmes to control air pollution caused by generator and vehicle emissions.
Minister of Environment, Mr Muhammed Abdullahi, who unveiled the National Emissions Control Programmes (NECP), Generator Emission Control Programme (NGECP) and Vehicular Emission Control Programme (NVECP) in Abuja, said the transport sector contributes most to air pollution in the country.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) will implement the programmes.
He said, “Unfortunately, despite significant advances in fuel efficiency and emission reduction, the transport sector remains one of the major sources of air pollution in Nigeria.
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“Meanwhile, considering the magnitude of air pollution on the environment and human health, NESREA cannot do the work alone, stakeholders’ involvement is required for effective implementation of the programmes.
“The stakeholders are all key in the implementation process, therefore, we are calling on all of you including the general public to join hands with NESREA in ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment.”
Abdullahi also decried the indiscriminate use of power generators for both domestic and industrial purposes, saying the trend has contributed to the poor air quality in the environment.
He explained that NESREA will set national emission standards and will develop a reliable national database management system for all emissions data generated from the programmes.
“The implementation of the NGECP will be starting with power generating sets of capacity from 10 KVA and above.
“While for NVECP the lowest limit will be Euro III emission standard as agreed at the ECOWAS regional level,” the minister added.
The Director-General of the NESREA, Prof. Aliyu Jauro in his speech said his agency is determined to tackle environmental problems endangering the health and social wellbeing of Nigerians.
He reiterated that NESREA has recorded numerous milestones in ensuring a healthier and cleaner Nigeria in its decades of environmental governance.
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