The National Environmental Standards Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) is to set up emission centres across the country as part of efforts to safeguard the environment.
Nasarawa State Co-ordinator of the agency, Alhaji Isa Abdulsalam, disclosed this Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.
Abdulsalam said that the emission centres, to be sited in all the state capitals in the country, would be fitted with equipment that will assess the emission level of all categories of vehicles and machines.
He said that worthiness licences would be issued to vehicles that pass the emission test, while the ones that failed would be banned from plying Nigerian roads.
He said that as part of efforts to rid the atmosphere of hazardous emissions from vehicles and machines, the Federal Government had placed a ban on the importation of two-stroke engines into the country.
Two-stroke engines are engines that take a mixture of petrol and engine oil.
On the indiscriminate siting of masts by mobile telecommunication operators in the country, the co-ordinator said the agency would soon commence removal of all masts sited less than 10 metres radius of residential buildings.
He said that the guideline, which stipulates the distance of the masts from residential buildings, was meant to safeguard Nigerians from? noise pollution and vibration.
Abdulsalam noted that most of the masts in the country fall short of the regulations, adding that those erected before 2010 were given concession.
“But, all those erected as from 2011, must abide by the provision of the regulation and carry out a proper Environmental Imapct Assessment (EIA) before mounting their mast.”
On the solid waste management, Abdulsalam called for collaboration between the private sector and the government, adding that so much was involved, and that government could not handle it alone.
He pointed out that the enforcement of the law on solid waste disposal would only be effective where there was? adequate provision for waste management equipment. (NAN)