The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu has disclosed that the FCT administration spent about N8 billion annually on waste management in the Federal Capital City and the satellite towns.
The Minister made the disclosure in a statement issued by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Austine Elemue, on Sunday in Abuja.
The statement said the Minister spoke at the maiden edition of the Annual General Meeting and Induction of Waste Management Association of Nigeria (WAMASON), FCT Council, in Abuja.
The Minister was quoted as saying that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) spent an average of N6 billion, while the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) expended N2 billion on waste management annually.
Aliyu said that this brought the total sum of N8 billion to pay over 64 cleaning contractors, engaged in the management of waste in the nation’s capital.
She called on communities to adopt sustainable waste management practices, “which include sorting at source, composting of organic waste for horticultural/agricultural purposes amongst others.”
Speaking on the theme: “Waste management in a circular economy, financing stakeholders engagement and enforcement,” Aliyu also called for the transition to circular economy for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria.
She said that in a circular economy virtually nothing was discarded, stressing that products and materials were kept in circulation.
“For as long as possible by designing them to be more durable, reusable, repairable and recyclable.
“It is clear that waste management is a cross-cutting environmental issue, impacting many aspects of our society and the economy.
“It has strong linkages to a range of other global challenges such as health, food and resource security, sustainable consumption and production, climate change and poverty reduction,” Aliyu was quoted as saying in the statement.
She said the FCT Administration had been working assiduously in ensuring that new opportunities for sustainable growth were provided through increased budgetary provisions on waste management related services.
“Presently, we have a total number of 64 waste management contractors in the FCC and Satellite Towns.
“This has provided employment opportunities and improved environmental sanitation through resource recovery, sorting and collection of recyclable for the informal waste pickers.
As well as providing a platform for generation of empirical data for proper planning and projection of waste amount in the FCT,” she said.
Aliyu, therefore, called for synergy and understanding between the government and the private sector in ensuring effective and profitable waste management.
She pledged the FCT administration’s commitment to providing the necessary legal framework that guaranteed return on investment for effective service delivery.
The statement also quoted the Councillor, Waste Management Association of Nigeria, Mrs Kitan Oluwagbuyi, as saying that the workshop was organised in collaboration between the association and tertiary institutions across the country.
She said that the collaboration was also designed to organise mentorship and provide opportunities in waste management and sustainable development.
The association, she said, had set up recycling centres in 20 schools across the FCT in 2020.
“Also five collection hub centres established in collaboration with a member recycler-chanjadatti under a UNDP assisted fund,’’ she added. (NAN)
