Environment
Association Urges Women Traders To Preserve Environment
The Founder of Nigerian Quintessential Business Women Association, Mrs Shimite Katung,has urged women to strive to preserve the environment while engaged in their economic activities.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, Katung also urged women to find an alternative technology to firewood that they could use as cooking fuel.
She said that the call became necessary owing to the health hazards associated with using firewood as fuel for cooking.
“We want to deal with the felling of trees and using it as cooking fuel because the smoke that comes out of it is cancerous. It also affects the lungs; it’s also not good for the eyes in the long run even though people like that smoke of firewood.
She stated that the health disadvantages were huge for just to get your jollof rice smelling like smoke. The smokes smell into the rice, fine; but is not worth the health hazards and we would also want to find the alternatives that the women can use.
“We have found an alternative that cost 3,000 naira; you have heard about it the clean stove thing; somebody here does that; so we will just link up with him and find out what his network is.
If he does not have a network up to the local government level, we do. So, we see how the women can contribute N200 to a point where they can take the stove.
“While we continue to tell them the disadvantage of using the fire firewood both to the environment to their homes and all of that.“
Katung said that tree planting can not only enhance the environment but also create economic values
“We want to do tree planting. There is this tree that grows in two years; the seeds are from Brazil and they come out very strong.
“You can use it for furniture and all of that; so when it is planted today, in two years, it can be harvested; you can continue to replant. So they will happily plant it knowing the cost when is felled; so I want something that will make some economic sense.
“It is for profit, so everything we are going to do must make some economic sense to enable you tap from it.“
She said that since the theme of this year’s World Environment Day was about avoiding waste, parents, teachers, and children should be proactive about it.
“We have agreed that there is no such thing as waste if you can turn it to cash whether is newspapers you need to know how to sort it out. Sort out bottles differently, bottle covers differently plastic differently.
“There are existing companies that receive some of these things but also there are monies from different banks with a good business plan.
“They will be able to give you money but one part that the bank missed which the women need to understand is the up-takers.
According to Katung, an up-taker is the person who will buy what you have she said. It was good to find our up-taker before the time.
For broken bottles, she advised women to approach Pepsi, Coca Cola etc and find out.
“Find out if they are up-takers for broken bottles.
“ So we need to find up-takers take on what you want to do nylon factories find your up-taker most banks will take you on that.
“For the children I think from early they need to teach them value of keeping their environment clean. They need to be thought sorting out dirt the right way and knowing that some of these can be used for manure it can be reused again.
“Every time you use a paper again you save a tree so some of these has to be inculcated. So for me I am not really into the children but the teachers and the parents because whatever you dish is what the children absorb as their way of life.
“For the teachers I think they should take some time to know what is happening; they should take time to find out what people are doing.
“You cannot sit down and complain about something they have just solved yesterday because you did not make an effort to find out what it is.
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.