NAN-AE-14
Inauguration
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, July 18, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Government on Tuesday inaugurated National Steering Committee for effective implementation of National Action Plan on Mercury use in Nigerian Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Sector.
Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Environment, who inaugurated the committee in Abuja, was represented by Dr Shehu Ahmed, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry.
Jibril said that the steering committee was inaugurated to provide guidance and technical support for effective implementation of the national project development of ASGM sector’s activities.
“After due consultations between the project executing agencies, the committee was composed with membership comprising federal ministries of environment, health, mines and steels development.
“Also, representatives of Miners Association of Nigeria, NGOs, representatives of Academia/Research Institutions and representatives of United Industrialisation Development Organisation, (UNIDO),’’ he said.
The minister explained that mercury was a metal that occurs naturally in the earth`s crust, adding that human activities have increased its concentration in the environment.
He said that the magnitude of its exposure to the environment was detrimental to human health because of its toxicity to the nervous system.
“In order to curtail this trend, Nigeria signed a Minamata Convention on Mercury, which is a Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) aimed at addressing the adverse effects of mercury.
“Also, to control the emission and releases of mercury compound from human activities through practical actions,’’ he said.
Jibril said that Nigeria signed the convention on Oct. 10, 2013 and the Federal Executive Council (FEC), approved the ratification of the convention in April.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Justice was preparing the instrument of ratification for Mr President`s signature, while the convention would enter into force on Aug. 16.
The minister noted that Nigeria did not have a well-developed large-scale gold mining sector, artisanal and small scale miners to carry out the majority of the gold mining in the country.
“As a result of that, preliminary inventory of mercury releases in Nigeria was carried out by the environment ministry in 2012, using the United Environmental Programme toolkits for identification and qualification of mercury releases.
“Level 1, showed that ASGM processing in Nigeria is more than insignificant, based on this; Nigeria reported this to the secretariat and applied to Global Environmental Facility (GEF) for funding.
“The funding is for a project on development of the action plan for the ASGM sector which was approved in February 2016 and implementation arrangement was finalised with UNIDO in June this year.
He said that elements of the action plan were a step to eliminate worst practices, promote mercury free methods and to achieve its objectives.
Mr Jean Bakole, the Regional Director and Country Representative for Nigeria and ECOWAS, UNIDO, Regional Hub Nigeria, said that the purpose of the committee was to support Nigeria in providing a national oversight.
Bakole, represented by Ms Rodica Ivan from UNIDO, said that the committee would also help for effective guidance on the project execution.
“UNIDO as the implementing agency of this project will ensure that the project is implemented to the highest standard by working with the committee and all relevant stakeholders,’’ he said.
He advised the committee to effectively coordinate activities of the project to ensure successful achievement of its objectives.
Bakole however added that UNIDO would support the ministry to implement its mandates for sustainable development and to create green industries for Nigeria. (NAN)
VOE/OIF/GY
==========
Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Grace Yussuf