Education
FG, Netherlands To Intensify Efforts At Curbing Environmental Hazards
The Federal Government
and Republic of Netherland have reiterated commitment to curbing issues of environmental hazards in Nigeria.
This was arrived at during a courtesy visit when the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry van Dijk, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Environment, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi, on Thursday in Abuja.
Dijk congratulated Abdullahi on his appointment as minister of environment, following his assumption of office in April.
“We are here to discuss areas of common interest, such as the Niger Delta oil spill clean-up, climate action and other issues like secular economy and solar power.
“In 2018, our foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance our bilateral relations and since then, we have had high level meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“We have been interested in increasing our presence and intensifying our relations.
“Nigeria takes interest in the business community and offers potential for climate change policy and greening the economy,” he said.
On his part, Abdullahi assured that his ministry would execute agreements and the MoUs signed in the past.
“The ministry is here to ensure that the policies, agreements and the MoUs signed are executed appropriately.
“I want to assure you that these MoUs, signed by my colleagues and other ministers, who had interface with either climate change or secular economy, are under the ease-of-doing-business policy of the government.
“They will be taken collectively and separately, depending on the ministry.
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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