The Lagos State government (LASG) and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) have pushed for more awareness of the dangers and need to end plastic pollution in the state.

The call to end plastic pollution was the major focus at the 2023 Walk for Nature organised and held recently by the LASG and NCF in Lagos.

Joseph Onoja, director general, NCF disclosed that the Walk for Nature was hosted in collaboration with LASG through the Ministry of Environment.

“This year’s theme focused on solutions to plastic pollution. When plastic was discovered, it was a game changer but it’s been known now that it’s a major issue to both terrestrial and aquatic environments affecting humans,” Onoja said.

Speaking on the solutions, he said there is a need to stop single-use plastic.

We need to find a way of recycling all our plastics. We need to stop using plastics but if we cannot stop it, then we reuse it or use it for other things that we can. We call on Nigerians with innovative ideas to also join us to change the use and end this pollution.

According to him, If proper action is not taken, Nigeria may have more plastic pollution in the waters than fish, stating that the initiative of the government and NCF aims to bring solutions through awareness to tackle these challenges.

Mojeed Balogun, chairman of Ikeja local government emphasized the need for public-private partnership to end plastic pollution.

He said, ” The government cannot do it alone and when the private is coming in, it thinks it is a welcome development for them to participate as a social responsibility too. Proper waste management is a way for us to conserve our waste in a way that not all materials should be wasted, especially plastic. When you send them to our drainages, it becomes a threat to our aquatics.”

The annual event which is approaching its second decade also brings different organisations and sectors of the country to discuss possible solutions to environmental conservation.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has handed over four boreholes rehabilitated under the Watershed Protection for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply activity to three communities in Cross River States.

The intervention includes two solar-powered boreholes in Aking and Old Netim communities and two hand-pump boreholes in Nsan community, all in Akamkpa local government area of the state, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

With these rehabilitated boreholes, residents of the three communities will have reliable access to a safe water supply, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases and improving their overall quality of life.

The Chief of Party of the USAID Watershed Protection for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply project and Deputy Country Director of WCS, Dr. Inaoyom Imong, said the project was achieved by supporting community-driven watershed management and sanitation initiatives and safeguarding water sources through forest ecosystem conservation. “The Wildlife Conservation Society, in collaboration with its implementing partners,

Also, the USAID/Nigeria’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Advisor in the Economic Growth and Environment Office, Latif-ur Rahman, said “everyone was entitled to the basic social services that include the provision of safe drinking water. ‘’USAID is partnering with the relevant stakeholders in Cross River State to provide safe and climate-resilient drinking water that would not only provide safe drinking water to the community but would also contribute to the climate adaptation efforts,” he said.

According to a report by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources (2020), 49 percent of the population in Cross River does not have access to basic water supply services, while 65 percent lack access to basic sanitation services.

The USAID-supported Watershed Protection for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply activity will provide clean water to about 3,600 community members within the three communities and increase water security and resilience for 71 communities in four LGAs in Cross River State that depend on the Cross River Watershed.

The Watershed Protection for Safe and Sustainable Water Supply activity works in Cross River and Bauchi states and provides access to clean drinking water to 200,000 people in 137 communities.

Following the motion moved by a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on the floor of the Senate on July 5, 2023, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is set to embark on a visit to victims and communities ravaged by flood in Remo and Ijebu areas of Ogun East Senatorial District.

The tour starts from Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday, August 15 and moves later to Sagamu on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

A statement on Sunday from the OGD Media Office confirmed that the Federal Government agency had indicated interest to dispatch its monitoring team to intervene in the recent flooding crisis in Ogun East.

The NEMA team is expected to assess the impact of ecological damages and natural disaster that occurred in some local governments across Remo and Ijebu areas of the senatorial district.

This is coming on the heels of the motion moved at a Senate plenary in Abuja by Otunba Daniel, who is the Distinguished Senator representing Ogun East in the National Assembly.

Following the adoption of the said motion, the Senate wrote to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and relevant federal agencies to urgently intervene in the flooding crisis and send relief materials to affected victims.

For many constituents in Ogun East, the scheduled visit of NEMA officials is a welcome development and a pointer to the fact that their new Senator is up to the task of effective representation at the Red Chambers.