The Federal Government, on Tuesday, disclosed that over 700, 000 children under five years of age died every day from diarrhea linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammed Mamoud disclosed this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 13th National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)’s National Stakeholders’ Forum, with the theme: “Water Pollution: Innovative Solutions for Environmental Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement.”
He, therefore, announced that NESREA had developed about six national environmental regulations to checkmate water pollution both from point and diverse sources.
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The regulations, according to him, are being operationalized across the country through their field offices and the headquarters.
Dr Mamoud also announced that billions of people are still living without safe water, as their household, schools, workplaces, as well as farms and factories are struggling to survive and thrive.
“For environmental protection to be effective, those who have been entrusted with the responsibility must have the capacity and tools to monitor compliance and enforce the laws, policies, guidelines, standards and regulations.
“There must be a synergy of purpose and action between and amongst all relevant stakeholders in our collective effort to protect our waters from preventable pollution. Water, being indispensable in our livelihoods should be of good quality so that our environment and health are not compromised.” The minister urged.
Earlier in his goodwill message, Chairman, Governing Council of NESREA, Barrister Iyiola Oladokun, said it had indeed become emergent to be on a rescue mission against the menace of water pollution, urging stakeholders to team up with NESREA to protect waters from pollution.
Barrister Oladokun, who was former deputy governor of Oyo State, said: “our water bodies are heavily polluted. Our habits and anthropogenic activities have complicated the situation. Open defecation and agricultural nutrients have made our watersheds unsafe.”