Environment
Council Urges Improved Standard At Abattoirs
The Environmental
Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), has urged area councils to ensure improved hygiene standards in abattoirs across the country.
The Head, Registration Ethics and Standards Enforcement, Mr Dominic Abonyi, made the call while speaking with newsmen recently.
Abonyi said that the call became necessary to ensure that proper public health measures were met.
He said that effective abattoir sanitation was crucial in preventing the outbreak of diseases.
Abonyi insisted that EHORECON would not relent in intervening wherever there were gaps in achieving sanitation.
The sanitation officer also stressed the need for improved hygiene in transporting meat from the slaughter house to the point of sale.
He said that the provision of adequate facilities was crucial in promoting cleanliness and ensuring safety operations in abattoirs.
“If somebody is carrying meat in an unhygienic manner, it is the responsibility of the environmental department of the area council to apprehend that person.
“It is their primary responsibility in the first place to provide a design of how meat should be conveyed.
“So if the person is now found to be carrying meat on his laps on a motor bike, such should be impounded and taken to court for prosecution.’’
Abonyi said that EHORECON would intensify its sensitisation campaign to further enlighten people on the dangers of transporting meat in an unhygienic manner.
“You are not supposed to convey meat in a manner that it should be accessible to fly or dust.
“But in this case you find out that they either have it on their laps, in the wheelbarrow or on top of a motorbike driving the street, dripping blood and causing nuisance.”
Some Abuja residents criticised the current method of meat transportation, describing it as unhealthy.
Miss Diana Dogwo said she felt irritated by the site.
“Most times I feel like not eating meat anymore,’’ Dogwo said.
A meat seller at Wuse market Malam Mohammed Isa, canvassed for greater enlightenment programmes for meat sellers on more hygienic ways to handle and transport meat.
Isa also called for the provision of adequate waste containers for storage of abattoir wastes and the rehabilitation of dilapidating facilities.
He further urged market management to ensure proper maintenance of the drainage system.
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.