By Kingsley Adegboye

Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jubril, has lauded the efforts and commitment by Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development, SRADev Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, towards complete phase out of mercury in products to ensure a safe environment across the country.

The minister who was represented by Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Environment, Olubunmi Olusanya, made the commendation at the just-concluded one-day National Dissemination Workshop on Mercury Products Project in Nigeria organised by SRADev in Lagos.

launching: From left, Minister of State for Environment, Mallam Ibrahim Jubril; Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo; Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; CEO, Azuri Technologies, Simon Bransfield-Garth and Chairman, Gwagwalada Area Council, Mustapher Adamu, during the official launch of NDPHC solar home systems at Muna, Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

The project title is Contributing to the preparation/implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, with a focus on developing strategies to implement mercury-added product phase out provisions of the Minamata Convention in Nigeria.

The minister who called for a national policy and its implementation to ensure the phase out, particularly commended SRADev which is at the forefront of championing mercury phase out in Nigeria, for its efforts to make the nation ratify the Minamata Convention on mercury which is a global treaty aimed at protecting the environment and human health from the hazards of mercury.

The agreement was reached at the fifth session of the inter-governmental negotiating committee on mercury in Geneva, Switzerland in 2013. Nigeria became the 85th ratification country and 24th in Africa after Nigeria signed the treaty in August 2017. The nation is currently in the process of formalising the ratification with the United Nations’ headquarters. The treaty is expected to be binding on Nigeria in April 2018.

The minister who disclosed that Nigeria has deposited its ratification document, pointed out that it would be important for the country to develop and amend legislation or regulations on mercury-added imported products and disposal of mercury-added products as specified by article four of the convention. The minister also commended the European  Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the Zero Mercury Working Group  for sponsoring the project.

The Technical Adviser to SRADev, Prof. Babajide Alo of the University of Lagos, while setting the tone of the workshop, noted that mercury is a recognised pollutant across the globe that is of concern to every country, pointing out that it needs to be reduced or eliminated outrightly.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director of SRADev, Leslie Adogame, said the purpose of the one-day national workshop was to get feed back on the journey so far by his organisation and the Federal Government to phase out mercury in products in Nigeria now that Nigeria has finally ratified the convention to join the rest of the world to finally phase out mercury in products in 2020.

Stakeholders at the event such as Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Lagos State Ministry of Health and NAFDAC commended the efforts of the Federal Government and SRADev to phase out mercury in products in Nigeria, saying they were ready to back the efforts and strategies towards the elimination.

In particular, NAFDAC said it was 100 per cent interested in the elimination of mercury from the production of cosmetics and related products to ensure that products are safe for use. The agency lauded SRADev for its efforts at making the phasing out of the harmful substance a reality.