FG moves to tackle electronic wastes

THE federal government has said it is making frantic efforts to ensure the safety of the environment and mitigate the impact of electronic wastes in the country.

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this while receiving the executive secretary of E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, in his office in Abuja when she paid him a working visit.

Onu said the ministry, through its agencies, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and National Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), was working hard to ensure conversion of electronic wastes to wealth.

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The minister added that problems that are spin-offs of scientific progress could also be solved through Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

He said NASENI particularly was working hard in the area of waste management and ensuring that technology is utilised in such a way that the environment is protected and the people are healthy and secure.

He also reiterated the commitment of the ministry to encourage women in the field of science, technology and innovation to achieve their desired goals.

Onu maintained that the resources of the nation could only be well utilised, if gender disparity is bridged and women are carried along at every level of governance.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, has called on Nigerian youths to focus on agriculture in order to surmount the problem of unemployment in the country.

Abdullahi made the call when he gave his goodwill message on African Youth Day celebration organised by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports with the theme: ‘’One Million by 2021: Count  Me In’’ in Abuja.

The minister said the technology incubation policy of the ministry had the potential to open wide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for a large number of youths.

He said the National Board for Technology Incubation of the ministry has come up with new seedlings for cotton production which could rejuvenate the nation’s comatose textile industries, thereby creating employment opportunities for youths.

The ministry, he added, would collaborate with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that programmes are organised through the deployment of technology to support youths in order to create wealth in the country.

He called on  youths to embrace science and technology and ensure that they utilise it  to tackle the nation’s economic challenges.

Earlier, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, said to celebrate the African Youths Day, the African Union had urged member countries to organise series of activities in the month of November to align with the theme ‘‘One Million by 2021 Campaign Objectives’’ which would create direct opportunities for one million young Africans in the areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement.

Nigerian Tribune