NAN-AE-7
Emission
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, Jan. 25, 2017 (NAN) Society for the Promotion of People`s Rights, an NGO, has advised the Federal Government to implement the Vehicular Emission Programme (VEP) for effective air quality management.
The association’s President, Mr Williams Osaze, who is an environmental expert, gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that the implementation of VEP was part of the measures put in place to cut vehicular emissions by replacing diesel-powered taxis and light buses with liquefied petroleum gas vehicles.
Osaze said that the adoption of lighter fuel, vehicle emission standards and retrofit old diesel vehicles with particulate reduction devices would promote effective air quality management.
He said that the measures would reduce problems relating to high vehicular emissions in the country, while roadside concentrations of some of the major air pollutants would stop.
“Respirable suspended particulates, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides will go down by at least 51 to 68 per cent respectively.
“The number of smoky vehicles on the roads will be reduced by nearly 80 per cent and people’s inhalation of nitrogen dioxide by the roadside will consequently reduce.
“These are part of the measures which the government should take to ensure effective implementation of the vehicular emissions programme,’’ he said.
Osaze said that although the Federal Government launched the programme a few years ago, its implementation had not been effective.
He stressed that the programme was supposed to be jointly enforced by the Nigeria Police, Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
Osaze said that VEP was particularly aimed at checking air pollution from automobile engines, adding that air quality was a condition of the air within the surroundings.
He called on Nigerians to partake in the campaign to reduce air pollution by ensuring that electric lights and appliances were turned off when they were not in use.
He also urged the citizens to also abide by environmental laws and regulations, adding that such posture would go a long way to reduce environmental hazards in the country. (NAN)
VOE/ORO/OOK
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Edited by Razak Owolabi, Dayo Komolafe