Experts Seek Passage Of Electronics Bill

Environment experts have called for the immediate passage of the Electronic Regulation Bill into law, to regulate the nation’s electrical and electronics sector.

Sources told The Tide that a bill to regulate the sector has been proposed by the Federal Ministry of Environment and National Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

The experts made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of “A One-Day NGO Roundtable on the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) Approach to Integrated Chemicals Management on Friday in Lagos.

They also called for the ban on the importation of substandard electronics into the country.

The experts stressed the need for the establishment of “a refurbished computer programme initiative” to assist e-waste generating spots like the computer village in Ikeja and Alaba.

The communiqué suggested awareness raising activities for stakeholders in the public and informal sectors and civil society organizations on the health and environmental effect of e-waste.

The experts noted that the continued importation of substandard electronics would negatively affect human health and the environment.

“There is lack of capacity to handle electronic waste in an environmentally sound manner in Nigeria, leading to release of hazardous substances,’’ they said.

They lamented that the dumping of substandard electrical products was becoming worrisome and needed to be checked.

According to them, the prevention of human exposure to harmful substances from electronics, remains cardinal in achieving the 2020 Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).