Mr Erik Solheim, the Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says UNEP will support Nigeria’s waste management to reduce, reuse and recycle plastics in the country.
Solheim said this on Friday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, in Abuja.
He expressed happiness over the way the private sector in the waste management organised itself to provide technical solutions for effective collection and recycling of bottles in the country.
The director said that beverages companies should devise ways to ensure that consumers return the used bottles to prevent littering environment.
He also urged the Federal Government to fast track the clean-up of oil spill in Ogoni land.
Solheim, who recalled that the UNEP report on Ogoni clean-up was launched by former President Olusegun Obasanjo led administration, noted that people were interested to see physical development in the land.
He added that one billion dollars counterpart fund set aside by the UN would have addressed the clean- up project if Nigeria showed the commitment by contributing its own fund.
Earlier, Jibril said that the Federal Government, oil companies and other relevant stakeholders in the oil sector had opened explorer account for the Ogoni clean-up project.
He said that by next week, money would begin to go into the account, adding that out of 400 contractors that bided for the project, 150 were pre-qualified.
The minister, who said that no section of the country that did not have environmental challenges, noted that the government in partnership with relevant stakeholders was addressing the problems in all the six geopolitical zones of the country. (NAN)
