President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has presented the maiden edition of the National Environmental Compliance Award 2022 to 16 organisations for their voluntary compliance with environmental standards, rules and regulations effectively.
According to a statement signed by Mr Adeleke Adebayo, Assistant Director, Public Relations and Protocol, National Environmental Standards Regulation and Enforcement Agency (NESREA), President Buhari made the presentation at the maiden edition of the National Environmental Compliance Awards (NECA).
The President who was represented by Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said that the elevation of NECA to a presidential award was intended to underscore the importance of the environment and its sustainability, saying his administration is committed to ensuring a healthy environment for all citizens.
“A healthy and sustainable environment can improve the security of the country in the face of global security challenges, triggered by the impact of climate change on livelihoods, employment, food systems and agricultural land,” he said.
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He reiterated his administration’s commitment to continue its support for the Ministry of Environment and NESREA as they continue to tackle environmental problems in the country and urged state governors and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the agency for the effective implementation of its programmes.
He encouraged NESREA and the Ministry of Environment to persevere and continue to work in the set direction, as their work is indispensable within the context of the local and global climate change initiatives before praising the recipients of the awards for their commitment to ensuring that they adhered to the rules and regulations of the agency.
Also, the Director-General of NESREA, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, said between 2019 and 2022, the agency had undertaken compliance monitoring of more than 10,000 corporate facilities and has had over 260 facilities sealed for various offences.
He said that the selection of the awardees was made with regard to environmental documentation such as Permits, Environmental audits and the level of Corporate Social Responsibility activities carried out by the selected organisations.
Story was adapted from environnewsnigeria.
