Environment
Geoscienctists Task Council On Professiolism
The Nigerian mining And Geosciences Society (NMGS) has tasked the Council of Mining Engineers and Geosciences (Comeg) to ensure professionalism in the sector.
National president of the society, Professor Akinade Olatunji said this during the presentation of accreditation certificates by the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG); and the updated Geological Maps of Nigeria by NGSA to Institutions offering programmes in the Nigerian Extractive Industry professions.
Olatunji said it is gratifying to see that the Comeg board has been active and focused on actualising its core mandate, adding that the board has provided the right atmosphere for the implementation of progressive ideas and initiatives which have made the council to actualise its vision unimpeded.
The president also commended the renewed effort by the council at regulating the entry of professionals in the extractive industry, stressing that it has halted the deteriorating quality of instructions and training received by students in the various accredited programms as well as afford the management of such institutions the opportunities to retool where necessary and to facilitate procurement of additional teaching aids and laboratory equipment where such are found insufficient.
A press release signed by the head, Press and Public Relations Department Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, Funmi Imuetinyan and made available to The Tide said the minister of Mines and Steel, Olamikan Adegbite
applauded COMEG for achieving the milestone of resuscitating the accreditation process, and called on the 19 accredited institutions not to rest on their oars but to continue to improve as the education process evolves.
He also stressed the need for regular monitoring and evaluation of the training process in the industry to check the influx of quacks into the industry.
The Minister called on the Institutions yet to be visited for accreditation to give the council their maximum cooperation for the good of the extractive industry and the country at large.
The Chairman of COMEG, Dr. Godspower Ebimotimi Okpoi, in his remarks stated that to improve on the training and education of the extractive industry’s professionals, the council is working on setting up a committee to review the Nigeria Universities Commission’s (NUC) Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standard Document, so as to align it with that of COMEG requirements and standard.
He noted that it is clearly outlined in the COMEG Act, that training comes first before other responsibilities. In his words, “good professional practice can only come out of good education and training.”
The Federal Ministry of Environment and National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with some e-waste recyclers have recycled some 300 tonnes of e-waste in Lagos.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, stated this at the closing ceremony of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project on Circular Economy Approaches for the Electronics Sector in Nigeria, held in Lagos
Abdullahi expressed gratitude to UNEP/GEF for the technical and financial support for the project.
He also commended the Lagos State Government for providing the enabling environment for the successful implementation of the project.
Abdullahi said that the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) played critical role for the project.
He said that their effort made it easy to achieve the project target of recycling 300 tonnes of e-waste in the state.
According to the Tide source the minister represented by Mallam Stanley Jonah, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Environmen said that e-waste was one of the fastest growing waste streams globally.
He said that most developing nations have been turned to a dumping ground with the influx of both new and used electrical and electronics.
The minister further noted that e-waste management for most developing countries including Nigeria was primarily handled by the informal sector, who scavenges for valuable material using crude methods.
“They retrieve the economically viable components through dismantling and dispose of the part that is not valuable to them either at open dumpsite or by burning or burying with municipal waste.
“Besides adding harmful element components to the environment, indiscriminate disposal of waste is a lost opportunity for recycling.
“Most solid waste contains some form of recycling materials, including plastics, glass, precious materials and metal.
“This call for concern on the resources efficiency and the attendant problems it poses to human health and the environment,” Abdullahi said.
Also, the Director-General, NESREA, Prof Aliyu Jauro, said that the environmental and health problems associated with e-waste are due to the hazardous material contained in them.
The Port Harcourt City Enviromental Sanitation Committee has given itself a pass mark in refuse evacuation and desilting of drainages in the city.
Chairman of the committee, Sir Christian Mgbamoka, who scored the committee high in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt said within the last two years of operations by the committee, the level of cleaniness in the city has improved tremendously.
“Two years now, well, I think we have made some marks”
He said it was obvious that within the past two years, the level of flooding has reduced in the city and blamed it on the regular desilting of drainages across the city by the committee.
“It is obvious that for the past two years we have been embarking on desilting of of our drainages which has reduced flooding within some critical or very important areas in port Harcourt City.
He said areas such as Dr Peter Odili road, the central bank road including front of the state high courts have been affected positively by the committee’s activities.
Mgbamoka also said regular desilting exercise has been carried out within the Dline areas of the city and mile 3.
He said the committee’s plan was to connect all the areas to the interwoba creek with the view to ensuring the free flow of waters
On the incessant flooding at the mile 1market, Mgbamoka blamed the problem on the designing of the drainages in the area.
He said the committee has interfaced with the ministry of works on the issue, adding that the ministry has promised to look into the issue.
The chairman also said the committee has also partnered with the Rivers State waste management Agency (RiWAMA) on prompt evacuation of refuse.
He commended the mayor of the city Sir Alwell Ihunda for his support, adding without him, the committee would have been left with no achievements.
Mgbamoka also commended some residents of the city for their regular supports to the committee.
He said while some of the residents have been of tremendous helps , others have shown no zeal in the cleanup of their environment.
Meanwhile Some youth Corpse members in port Harcourt City local Government council under”The Rivgreen Community Development service (CDS) of the National Youth Service Corpse have carried out a sanitisation exercise at Abali park in port Harcourt City local Government council.
Over 50 corp members were involved in the cleanup exercise.
President Rivgreen CDS of the Nysc Omagbele Fabulous told the Tide that the exercise will be a continuous one .
He added that the next phase of their programm will involve tree planting around the garden city of port Harcourt so that the name will be in tandem with the present state of things in the city.
An environmental group, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, has called on Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to commence a comprehensive health and environmental audit of the Ogoni clean-up project.
This was contained in a statement made available to news men in port Harcourt.
The statement also regretted that the clean-up of Ogoniland has taken longer than necessary despite the available resources and manpower made available to the coordinating agency.
The statement congratulated the newly appointed HYPREP Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, adding that he must do things differently, focus on inclusion of stakeholders in the operations.
It qouted the Director of the foundation Dr Nnimmo Bassey as saying “While we congratulate Prof. Zabbey, we equally take the opportunity to register some key urgent demands and hope that he uses his good office to advocate cleanup of the entire Niger Delta.
“Government should take coordinated action to end pollution including gas flaring.”
According to the statement Nnimo Bassey noted that with Zabbey’s pedigree as an academician and activist, the expectations of stakeholders are high and failure is not an option, calling for regular consultations to complex pollution sites.
“We applaud the appointment, as he has deep knowledge of the Ogoni environment and has done important researches in the area and in the wider Niger Delta region, coming 12 years after the UNEP report and sluggish manner by which the clean-up has been approached,” Bassey added.