The Minister of the Environment, Amina Mohammed, has said the National Environmental Sanitation Day that was introduced by the then General Muhammadu Buhari Administration in 1984 is to be resuscitated.
Speaking on Saturday in Kuje, Abuja on the occasion of the tripartite Environmental Sanitation Day organized by the National Inter-ministerial Committee on ‘LASSA FEVER’, Mohammed said: “The idea of designated sanitation days at states, local governments as well as markets across the country has remained a legacy.”
She added that the fact that Nigerians have voluntarily continued the practice for 32 years after it was first introduced is a clear indication that the idea is not only sustainable, but also in the overall interest of the nation, her people and the environment.She maintained that it is her “strong desire to consult with states, local governments and other relevant stakeholders to create a strong interface to bring back the NESD.
Answering questions from newsmen, Mohammed explained that she will partner with corporate organizations, states and local governments to repackage the National Environmental Sanitation Day with a view to giving Nigerians the desirable change in the environment sector, adding that existing sanitation programs at all levels will be strengthened and encouraged with every necessary incentives to complement the national programme.
According to her, a comprehensive process of consultation, including discussions on the best practices to adopt to ensure the programme is fully consolidated, will be on the front burner at the National Council on Environment due to hold in Lafia, Nasarawa State in the coming weeks.The Minister said when fully resuscitated, a Peer Review Mechanism in the sector will be initiated, aimed at determining the cleanest states, cities, local governments and markets in the country, which will be rewarded with environmental related projects in their domain to be executed by the Federal Ministry of the Environment.
According to the Minister, the re-emergence of Lassa fever and other environment-related diseases in the country calls for greater attention and synergy by stakeholders of our environment as a strategy for combating the threats and protecting the lives of the people, adding that deaths arising from such epidemics are indeed avoidable and must be prevented at all cost
POSTED AS NEWS,https://www.today.ng/news/national/73285/fg-to-resuscitate-national-environmental-sanitation-day
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