Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development, SRADev Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation gets appreciation from Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jubril for the efforts and commitment towards complete phase out of mercury in products, to ensure a safe environment across the country.
Focusing on developing strategies to implement mercury-added product phase out provisions of the Minamata Convention in Nigeria, the project title is contributing to its preparation/ implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The minister in particular called for a national policy and its implementation to ensure the phase out and applauded SRADev for its efforts to make the nation ratify the Minamata Convention on mercury, which is a global treaty aimed at protecting the environment and human health from the hazards of mercury. Nigeria became the 85th ratification country and 24th in Africa after Nigeria signed the treaty in August 2017. The nation is currently in the process of formalising the ratification with the United Nations headquarters. The treaty is expected to be binding on Nigeria in April 2018.
According to the minister who disclosed that Nigeria has deposited its ratification document, “It would be important for the country to develop and amend legislation or regulations on mercury-added imported products and disposal of mercury-added products as specified by article four of the convention.” The minister also commended the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the Zero Mercury Working Group for sponsoring the project.
The Technical Adviser to SRADev, Prof. Babajide Alo of the University of Lagos noted that mercury is a recognised pollutant across the globe that is of concern to every country, pointing out that it needs to be reduced or eliminated outrightly.
The Executive Director of SRADev, Leslie Adogame, said, “The purpose of the one-day national workshop was to get feedback on the journey so far by his organisation and the Federal Government to phase out mercury in products in Nigeria now that Nigeria has finally ratified the convention to join the rest of the world to finally phase out mercury in products in 2020.”
Stakeholders at the event such as Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Lagos State Ministry of Health and NAFDAC applauded the efforts of the Federal Government and SRADev to phase out mercury in products in Nigeria.