National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has embarked on a fresh round of compliance monitoring exercise to facilities in firms and other institutions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The exercise aimed at assessing the level of compliance by companies, restaurants and others would be followed by enforcement and sanctioning for crimes against the environment.
The agency’s Director General, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, explained, “My office is besieged daily by Nigerians with complaints bordering on the activities of facilities and the negative impact on their health and the environment.
According to Jauro, “notice of compliance concerns had been served on the facilities of companies, restaurants and many have refused to abate their infractions on the environment.”
He stressed that the agency is going ahead to impose sanctions and prosecute defaulters where necessary, adding, “we are starting off with the FCT but the exercise will be extended to all states of the Federation.
“We are at a point where we must do all it takes to protect our environment from pollution because it is a basic necessity for our survival on planet Earth.”
The Director General said: “We are the foremost environmental enforcement agency in the country charged with the responsibility of enforcing all environmental laws, guidelines, policies, standards and regulations in Nigeria.
“We will also prohibit processes and the use of equipment or technology that undermine environmental quality and to enforce compliance with the provisions of international agreements, protocols, conventions and treaties to which Nigeria is signatory.”
