By Jude Njoku

The President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, NITP, Dr Femi Olomola has called for the enforcement of the EIA legislation to stem the myriad of environmental problems facing Nigeria’s urban areas.

Olomola who reacted to the recent move by the Federal government to validate the reviewed EIA Act 86 of 1992, insisted that lack of its enforcement by the government and its agencies, is the major reason for the plethora of environmental problems facing Lagos and other cities in the country. He cited the Oshodi-Apapa axis where two of the nation’s busiest seaports and numerous tank farms are sited as an example of non-compliance with the 29-year old legislation.

Olomola who noted that the EIA would normally recommend mitigation measures, lamented that these measures are hardly put into place. The settlement expert frowned at the siting of tanks farms and gas plants in residential neigbourhoods. “Ideally, such facilities shouldn’t be located in residential areas, where people live. They should rather be sited at the River bank and in low-density zones. But the approval authorities don’t enforce this,” the NITP boss said.

Continuing, the NITP president said, “ It would be interesting to ask NISEREA to tell us any particular case study where EIA recommendations were followed. EIA is done as a mere academic exercise and when people get the approvals, they just dump it (EIA report) somewhere. Go and find out anywhere that problem arises, you will find out that the EIA addressed such problems but it was not implemented”.

Citing the multi-billion dollar Eko Atlantic City project in Victoria Island, Olomola asked what has been done with the EIA done by the developers. Vanguard Homes & Property recalls that the Federal Government in 2014, set up a Ministerial Committee to review the EIA Act. The Committee which has concluded its assignment, expunged, added and reframed some sections of the existing law in line with current practices and practical realities.

A stakeholders conference was therefore convened penultimate week to validate the reviewed Act. Speaking a the two-day forum tagged National Stakeholders workshop on the validation of the draft revised Environmental Impact Assessment Act No 86 of 1992 in Abuja, the Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Nana Fatima Mede explained that the reviewed EIA  would address population and development, climate change and gender issues in Nigeria.

Considering that the EIA Act has been in active enforcement for well over two decades now, the time is apt for its review, especially now that global environmental issues are undergoing paradigm shifts in several cross sectoral areas like population and development, climate change and gender issues,” the Permanent Secretary said.