NAN-H-44
Waste
By Mercy Osajiugo
Minna, April 21, 2017 (NAN) A don, Prof. Ahmed Abubakar, on Friday, advised the Niger State Government to boost its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by taxing human waste collectors.
Abubakar, who is the Dean, School of Physical Sciences, Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.
According to him, waste in any form, be it solid, gaseous or liquid, is a huge revenue potential, which must be tapped by the government.
He stressed that the government should no longer be deceived by some people, who wanted to dispose off sewage from soak-aways without paying for it.
“Don’t give it out for free; people are making huge sums of money from it.
“It is natural manure, and methane is produced from it.
“Niger Government should not fold its arms and watch, while individuals make money from taxable ventures,” Abubakar said.
The don added that apart from human waste, individuals loaded trucks of scrap metals out of Niger on a daily basis without being taxed.
NAN reports that a form of gas that lends human waste its stench is methane, which burns.
Methane is an invisible, odourless and combustible gas, present in trace concentrations in the atmosphere.
It is the major component of natural gas, a fossil fuel, commonly used for heating and cooking; it ranks second to carbon dioxide. (NAN)
MNO/COF/YEMI
Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Yemi Idris-Aduloju