Environment
Traders Protest Against AEPB
Traders at the popular UTC market in Abuja held a peaceful protest last Thursday following the closure of the market by officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).
The Tide reports that the traders were prevented from entering the market, located in Area 10, Garki, Abuja.
Some of the traders told our source that the board sealed-off the premises because of the non-evacuation of the refuse they generated.
Some of the placards carried by the traders, who chanted slogans, read “ this evil and injustices must end” and “those behind this evil will die”.
The Chairman of UTC market, Mr. Chukwu Francis told The Tide that the AEPB shut down the market on Thursday without any verbal or written notice.
He said the service charge being paid by the traders was outrageous, compared to what their counterparts in other markets were paying.
“The problem at hand is because of service charge; we have been given a certain bill to pay that we consider scandalous.
“Some shops were asked to pay N190,000 as service charge, others N135,000, while the least is N65,000 per annum. This is more than what our counterparts in other markets pay.’’
Francis, however, said that as a result of negotiation between the market executives and the Abuja Market Management Limited, 80 per cent of traders had paid their service charge out of fear.
“It is the 20 per cent that has not paid that prompted them to shut down the market.
“AEPB locked up the market because the law establishing it empowers it to seal off any environment found to be dirty,’’ he said.
Francis said that when the traders brought a truck to evacuate the waste AEPB refused the truck entry.
“They told us that if we can bring a truck to evacuate the waste they will allow us to go back to our shops; we brought a truck but they refused to allow us to evacuate the refuse,’’
“It is an act of injustices to lock up our business premises at this time when everybody is making fast sales.’’
The Chairman of the Printers Association, Mr. Gabriel Adediji claimed that the service charge was being increased yearly, adding that AEPB should have locked up the shops of those who had refused to pay instead of shutting down the whole market.
Adediji said that the traders had been denied their source of livelihood, adding that the closure would make it difficult for his members to meet the orders that had been placed for various work.
The Deputy Director, Environmental Health and Safety (AEPB), Mr. Uche Agbanusi told the Tide that the market was shut down because the traders had refused to pay up their service charge.
Agbanusi said the market would remain shut until the traders pay up their bills, adding “the only way we can make them pay their bill is to shut down the premises’’.
“Even if it is only few traders that have not paid, the premises will remain shut until all of them pay up.’’
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mrs Margaret Oguntala, has inaugurated the construction of 18 units residential terrace in highbrow Alausa area of Lagos toward bridging the nation’s shelter gap.
Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has launched the 1GOV Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to enhance digital governance and improve service delivery.
The launch, held on Thursday in Abuja, marks the ministry’s transition from paper-based operations to a smart, integrated and technology-driven work environment.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, said the deployment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
Utsev said the system would improve data management, streamline workflows and strengthen transparency and accountability across the ministry.
According to him, the ECMS will enhance productivity, preserve institutional memory and reduce operational costs in the ministry.
Launching the platform, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, said the initiative is a major step in public sector reform.
She said the ministry’s mandate affects Nigerians through water supply, sanitation, irrigation, river basin development and climate resilience programmes.
Walson-Jack said the 1GOV ECMS enables secure digital records management, automated workflows, electronic approvals and real-time collaboration across MDAs.
She added that the deployment aligns with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 and the directive for full digitalisation by December 2025.
“Effective governance cannot afford delays caused by manual bottlenecks or avoidable inefficiencies,” she said.
She directed that all official correspondence in the ministry must henceforth be processed through approved digital registry channels.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, said the system would eliminate workflow inefficiencies and improve service delivery.
She urged staff to fully adopt the platform and engage in continuous capacity building.
Research shows that local communities and citizens living at the grassroots, particularly women, are directly impacted by the environmental degradation, flooding and others that result from these manifestations.
In the light of this, non-governmental organisation, Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development (EUFORDe), has held a forum for women and other members of oil impacted communities, tagged: ‘Voices from the Grassroots,’ and aimed at building their resilience and mitigation efforts against climate change and environmental degradation
The forum, with the theme: ‘Building Resilience for Oil Spill Impacted Ahoada Communities,’ organised with support from Global Green Grants, was held in Ahoada Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, on December 5, 2025.
Executive Director of Ese Usamali Foundation For Rural Development, Mercy Elemchukwu-James, said women are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.
The event, therefore, was “designed for community women impacted by oil spills, flooding and other environmental degradation,” she said.
Community women were enlightened by resource persons on new opportunities for sustainable agricultural practices and water management techniques that cushion the impact of oil spills.
Lectures were also delivered on Self-care and Trauma-care, with focus on physical and mental health of the population, and increasing access to health-related resources and services; as well as on Food security and women’s critical role in decision making in oil spill and flood situations in communities
Elemchukwu-James pointed out that the event created a forum for stakeholders, civil society actors and others to dialogue on measures at advancing inclusive and sustainable livelihoods of community women.
She stressed the need for collaborative efforts towards achieving mitigation efforts, while underscoring EUFORDe’s commitment to “fostering partnerships as a critical driver for achieving a healthy community and sustainable development.”
Elemchukwu-James described participants’ design of ‘Community Resilience Plan,’ to manage and combat environmental degradation and crises, as part of achievements recorded at the event.
The forum also witnessed the launching of EUFORDs’ Center For Resilience and Rights.
“This center is established to build resilience as Trauma-Care for victims of environmental degradation, support for survivors of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and a platform where victims of environmental injustice and other GBV cases can seek redress,” Elemchukwu-James said.
Participants celebrated the milestones achieved and charted a path toward greater impact in the coming years. They also described the event as “an inspiring and transformative experience.”
Elemchukwu-James said the awareness creation workshop “reaffirms EUFORDe’s mission to create an equitable society in which the rights and capacities of women, youth, children and underprivileged are integrated in the socio-economic planning and development of communities, for the attainment of equity and peace.
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