By Stephen Adeleye.
Kogi State Government has urged residents to take the issue of air pollution “very seriously’’, and avoid any act that will result in environmental pollution.
The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Pharm. Sanusi Yahaya, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lokoja.
According to him, once the air is polluted, the quality being inhaled is injurious to the health and can cause chronic diseases such as lung cancer, triggers asthma, among others.
Yahaya said that nine out of 10 people breathe polluted air which killed about seven million people yearly as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He defined air pollution as ”certain gases and particles in the atmosphere which harm humans and other organisms also affect climate.”
He stressed the need to continue to remind the general public of the importance of the environment and to pay attention to their surroundings as regard land and water.
“As a government, we have enacted laws through the State House of Assembly that created the State Environmental Protection Board through the law setting up the board in 2018.
“The law has provisions that limit human activities and level of emission that is allowed from burning of fossil fuels from equipment, machinery, vehicles, coals, quarry activities, among others.
“It also has provision against burning of bush, solid wastes, and all other activities that release these particles and other gases as pollutants into the atmosphere.
“The right to clean air is a human right and it involves everyone; the quality of air we breathe will determine the quality of life we enjoy,” he said.
Yahaya said that the fire wood and charcoal were commonly used energy in Kogi, adding that they all produced pollutants that affect the air quality.
He, therefore, called on the people to expose activities of bush burning, illegal felling of trees and charcoal production to be punished according to law.
“We sensitise people through radio jingles to discourage air pollution. By this, the public are educated on the danger of air pollution, and this may make them to desist from such acts.
“Though it is not something that will disappear overnight, there must be alternatives which is the use of domestic gas for cooking.
“The state is providing cleaner stove that consumes less and causes less air pollution,” he said.
He said that the state government had recently acquired clean stoves through the support of the Federal Government in a bid to promote cleaner energy.
He said that the pilot phase, which had already been brought to the state would be given to women and households to ensure a cleaner form of energy thereby reducing air pollution.
Yahaya said that the state government had also embarked on sensitisation workshops to sensitise the public on their roles to avoid 2019 flood disaster as recently predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ”World Environment Day (WED)” is celebrated every June 5, to encourage worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment.
‘The 2019 World Environment Day had ”Air Pollution” as its theme.
(NAN)
