The Federal Ministry of Environment has called for an urgent action to address the menace of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) exposure in the country.
Speaking at the Inventory Data Validation and Priority-setting Workshop for the review and update of the National Implementation Plan (NIP), Mrs. Nana Fatima Mede, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said it was ultimately necessary for Nigeria as a nation to entrench core management infrastructures to meet emerging chemical challenges so as to concertedly address multi-faceted issues pertaining to POPs and other chemicals of similar characteristics.
Mede said the task of achieving a POPs-free environment was not the sole responsibility of the government, adding: “I call on the industry/business group to partner with the government in making our environment clean and livable.”
“It is on record that the task was participatory and executed with due reference to UNEP Guidance Documents, Quality Assurance/Control process and other relevant standards/protocols,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr. A. K. Bayero, Director, Pollution Control and Health in the ministry, noted that despite some challenges, the project has successfully covered substantial milestones in the implementation schedule.
Bayero noted that Nigeria embarked on the initiative to review and update her National Implementation Plan (NPI), following the amendments to the convention in 2009, 2011 and 2013.
“The tasks of POPs inventory and assessment of POPs infrastructure were undertaken by national experts, in collaboration with thematic working groups and relevant stakeholders.
“These were to generate data on national institutional infrastructures, as well as the nature and extent of old and new POPs availability in the country, as input for updating and intensifying policy actions towards minimising and or eliminating POPs from the Nigerian environment,” he said.
The director appealed to stakeholders to continuously commit themselves towards achieving the workshop objectives.
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