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Dean Seeks Environmental Protection Measures

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8 years ago

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A university teacher, Prof. Alafuro Enos Epelle, has called for more proactive measures by environmental scientists to tackle the environmental menace facing Nigerians.
Professor Epelle who is the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt stated this while exchanging views with The Tide on the inability of environmental experts and the government to pay proper attention to environmental degradation in the country.
He stressed that the role man plays has been difficult for the environment and called for a change of attitude.
He called on experts to rise up to the challenge and proffer far reaching solutions to the issues.
According to him, since the establishment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEMA) and the evolution of the Ministry of Environment, there has been lots of Environment Impact Assessments (EIAs), saying more still needed to be done with issues of environmental management.
He said though nature has put in place factors to make the environment clean, man in his exploitative manner has not been able to manage the environment properly.
According to him, contamination of the environment is  inevitable since activities of man and natural occurrence also play their own roles.
He further said oil prospecting desertification and deforestation which affect 70 per cent of the nation’s landscape must be checked to avoid further damage to the environment.
The university teacher stated that environmental protection was given massive attention between 1960 and 1998 , stressing that “existing guidelines for environmental protection in Nigeria were more of pronuncement than enforcement”.
On measures for oil spills clean-up, Prof. Epelle warned against the use of chemicals in the envisaged clean-up of oil pollution in the Niger Delta region. He stressed that it would be safer to use bacteria for the clean-up of oil spills instead of using chemicals, as in other climes.
As he puts it, most tertiary institutions in collaboration with other scientific bodies were working on the possibility of adopting the use of bacteria as method for the clean-up exercise of the polluted Niger Delta communities are characterized by creeks swamps water ways and huge reserves of oil which have enabled Nigeria to become the  world 8th largest oil exporter.
He however said that decades of exploration by natural and multi  wind companies had contaminated and destroyed there land and fresh water resourced leaving the residents in anguish and abject poverty.

Bethel Sam Toby

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Environment

RUWASSA solicits Government Support To Tackle poor sanitation in Rivers state 

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3 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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Rivers state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency( RUWASSA)has inaugurated The state Task Group On Sanitation( STGS ).
General Manager of the Agency,Mr Peter Thompson said the inauguration will facilitate the agency’s commitment towards monitoring and   implementation of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)programms in the state.
He said the agency is also working towards an open defecation free Rivers state.
Meanwhile The Rivers state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency( RUWASSA) has solicited the support of the state government towards the implementation of WASH programs in the rural areas.
General Manager of the Agency Mr Peter Thompson said this in an address at an event to mark this year’s World Toilet Day in Port Harcourt.
He said the appeal has become necessary inview of the need   to translate the visionary goal of the government in the WASH  sector to reality.
Thompson said while, it is the function of the Ministry of Water Resources of  and Rural Development to provide the policy direction and strategic framework,it is however the core mandate of RUWASSA to translate the visionary goal of water  sanitation and hygiene for all into functional water points.
“Most critically for today’s discussion, safe toilets in households, markets schools and public places across Rivers state
“We are the engineers who design the systems, the community Mobilizers who foster ownership, the hygiene promoters who drive behavioural change and the first responders to sanitation related public health crisis
“Our role is not just to build, but to transform”he said.
He acknowledged the challenges posed by poor sanitation in the state noting,,”the sanitation challenges we confront in Rivers state are stark and sobering.
“A structure that discharges faeces directly into the environment is not toilet, it is a public health hazard in disguise a betrayal of the very purpose it is meant to serve
“This is not theoretical concept for us at the Rivers state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency;it is a daily operational reality we grapple with
“We have seen with our eyes the well intentioned but tragically flawed projects that dots community waterfronts , masquerading as toilets
“We have witnessed the fake toilets perpetuate, this is the core challenge we must collectively address, ensuring that every single toilet in Rivers state provide 100 percent containment and safe treatment of faeces ” he said
Thompson further described as eyesore”the pervasive phenomen of building toilets that perpetuate, rather than prevent open defecation in our waterfront Communities “adding “it is a symptomatic failure on two critical fronts and Rivers state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency accept its share of the responsibility for not having overcome it yet”
He however said his agency is determined to close the gap ,as it is their duty to research,identify, pilot and promote context specific, appropriate sanitation technologies that are both effective and environmentally safe
“This is a mission we are pursuing with vigour through our strategic partnership with the Centre for water and sanitation studies at the Rivers state university and other specialized academic institutions to develop a portfolio of Rivers state Appropriate Sanitation Technology”he said.
By: John Bibor
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PIND Set To Boost Employment Unveils N113M

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3 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) has launched a N113 million Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) facilities upgrade grant to modernise and expand 14 TVET centres across the Niger Delta.
The Executive Director, PIND Foundation, Mr Sam Daibo, said this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
Daibo said the funding would boost youth employment in the region and drive long term economic transformation.
He said the initiative would strengthen the region’s skills development ecosystem by upgrading infrastructure and improving training delivery.
He added that it would enhance the long-term sustainability of TVET institutions operating in Information and Communication Technology, building construction, agriculture, and services.
He listed beneficiary centre locations to include Aba (Abia State), Warri (Delta State), Port Harcourt (Rivers State), Uyo (Akwa Ibom State), and Asaba (Delta State).
These Daibo said would serve as hubs that collectively support thousands of young people transitioning into work and enterprise.
“We are not just upgrading equipment; we are upgrading futures and this investment ensures that TVET centers can train more young people with skills demanded by today’s industries.
“When we strengthen institutions that train youth, we strengthen livelihoods, businesses, and the future of the Niger Delta,” he said.
Daibo revealed that the programme would run from September 2025 to February 2026.
He said it was expected to directly benefit over 10,000 unemployed youths through market-relevant skills and stronger job and enterprise linkages.
He stated that as part of the launch, PIND hosted a strategy workshop in Akwa Ibom with government agencies, private sector partners, and development actors.
This workshop, Daibo said, was to explore pathways for building a more commercially viable and resilient TVET sector in the region.
“By enabling TVET centres to operate at higher standards and absorb more learners, PIND is positioning skills development as a catalyst for youth employment, innovation, and inclusive growth across the Niger Delta,” he said.
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Flood Victims Seek More Help FromTinubu And NEMA

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3 days ago

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December 8, 2025

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Beneficiaries of relief materials distributed during the 2025 flooding in Akwa Ibom State have expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
They gave the commendations on Friday when a NEMA Monitoring and Evaluation Team led by Mr. Manzo Ezekiel visited Uyo to assess the impact of the interventions.
While the residents acknowledged the supports, ranging from building materials to essential household items, they stressed that the relief provided was insufficient compared to the scale of destruction caused by the flooding.
They, therefore, appealed for more sustained and long-term solutions.
Mr Emmanuel Ekong, one of the beneficiaries and resident of Use- Offot in Uyo metropolis, who received bags of cement and bundles of zinc, expressed appreciation  to the federal government and NEMA for the support.
Ekong, however, said the relief materials were “grossly inadequate, as it could not completely assuage the suffering experienced during the flooding”.
“NEMA came here and donated some bags of cement to us to help rebuild the fence that collapsed due to flooding in this community.
“I want to thank NEMA, Federal Government immensely for what they have done. I also want to urge that they should take steps to completely take away flood water from this community.
“We want NEMA to do more, because what they gave us was negligible, considering the magnitude of flooding in this area,” Ekong said.
The team also visited the Afaha Offot community, widely prone for flooding, and met with the Village Head, Chief David Etuk, who thanked Tinubu and NEMA for the support to victims.
Etuk appealed to governments and NEMA to do more to alleviate the suffering of the people in the community.
“I want to thank NEMA for always finding time to visit us; not once, not twice.
“We have been interacting with the agency periodically, and they have paid on-the-spot visit to flood ravaging areas within this community.
“The flood is so enormous that the village is always taken over by water and we have written to the federal and state governments to come to our rescue, by providing  a lasting solution.
“I want to thank NEMA for always being there for us in terms of relief materials.
“They will come and when we take them round, they will invite us to come and get relief items, like foodstuffs, but we still need more,” Etuk said.
Another beneficiary, Miss Mary Dennis, thanked NEMA for the materials she eceived during the period.
“My name is Mary Dennis from Uyo LGA, I collected some items from the Federal Government through NEMA.
“My house was flooded and all my things were damaged and the federal government came to my aid by giving me, a mattress, blanket, mat, stove and bucket.
“I thank them for the gesture” she said.
In his comment after the exercise, Ezekiel, Head of Media, NEMA headquarters, said the visit was to hear directly from the beneficiaries.
Ezekiel said information gathered from the field would be processed and sent to the management for proper planning to serve the people  better.
He assured the people that NEMA and the federal government were not just concerned about the interventions, but the plights and difficulties the victims were passing through.
“We are in a mission to connect with people, who were affected by flooding and to interact with them to get some feedback on our interventions.
“The meeting is also to evaluate the support they have received and to give them the sense of belonging that NEMA and the federal government are concerned about their plights.
“The reactions we have received from people, who have benefited from our interventions, are overwhelming.
“It is good that we have come here to hear from them, that they had received relief materials sent to them through our operational office in Uyo.
“They have all appreciated our interventions, but some of the issues mentioned by the people have to do with ecological interventions.
“That is not directly under our purview, but we will take the message to the appropriate authorities for action,” Ezekiel said.
He urged the people to take measures to prevent flooding within their communities by desilting drainage around them.
“There are little things residents can do to avoid  flooding – keep your environment clean, stop dumping of refuse into gutters when it rains, and desilting of drainages properly.
“We are happy that the interventions we rendered are receiving positive feedback from the people that benefited from our assistance,” he said.
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