By Onuora Aninwobodo
The Director General of NESREA, Dr. Innocent Barikor says the Agency will ensure that the environment is given due consideration in the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in the country and such installations must comply with extant environmental regulations.
Dr. Barikor made the promise when he received two European companies, Consulting & Management and Europe Ltd, who were in his office to brief him on the European Union-funded project in Nigeria titled “EU Support to Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy for studies in support of 90,000km Fibre Optic Network and Improved Digital Literacy in Nigeria.”
The NESREA DG stated that the environmental implications of such deployment would be taken into consideration and due diligence carried out before the commencement of the project, while also drawing attention to the need for sensitization of the citizens.
Prof. M.T Ladan, who led the delegation assured the Director General that the team was already taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance especially with regards to the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project, adding that the team was in NESREA as part of its Stakeholders’ engagement and consultation on the project.
Meanwhile, Dr.Barikor on Tuesday led the management team of the Agency on a visit to the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi to firm up the partnership between both organisations to achieve environmental sustainability.
During the meeting, Dr. Barikor and his host highlighted the existing collaboration between NESREA and NCS and agreed on the need to build greater synergy particularly at the ports .
Strategies for seamless processing and verification of environmental documents such as the import clearance, the integration of NESREA’s online portal into the recently developed B’odogwu platform and the mechanism for sharing information on the enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) were discussed. A committee will be set up for easy execution of the decisions taken.
Dr. Barikor seized the opportunity to intimate the CGC and his team on the Federal Government Ban on Single Use Plastics in an effort to promote Circular Economy in the country as well as tackle plastic pollution.
Responding, the CGC, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi said the Service was committed to entrenching sustainability into its operations and enforcing standards in line with the Green Customs Action Plan of the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
