Environment
Environmentalists Reject Report on Dead Fishes Along Niger Delta Coastlines
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) an environmental NGO has expressed divergent views with the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) on the causes of massive death of fishes littering the Niger Delta waters.
NOSDRA had on May 14 said that findings on the dead fishes on the Atlantic coastline indicated high levels of toxicity caused by toxic wastes discharge.
The agency noted that the discharge of toxic materials into the Atlantic may have come from land as the wastes from domestic and industrial sources often emptied into the water body.
It will be recalled that NOSDRA had on April 22 said it was coordinating a multi-agency investigation, aimed at unraveling the cause of the reported massive death of fishes within the nation’s territorial waters.
HOMEF’s Executive Director, Rev Nnimmo Bassey in a reaction on Monday, noted that the report released by NOSDRA did not meet the expectations of stakeholders as to the exact causes of death of the fishes and how to forestall re-occurrence.
“HOMEF believes that a detailed and in-depth analysis should have been provided by NOSDRA working in cooperation with agencies and institutions including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
“Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and Federal Institute for Fisheries Research which they said were informed of the tragic occurrences.
“The NOSDRA statement doesn’t help the situation and doesn’t erase the anxieties of the peoples of the region.
“We call on the ministry of environment and relevant agencies to tell Nigerians what killed the fishes so that we know how to respond to this and future incidents.
“We are not satisfied with NOSDRA’s report as this doesn’t bring a closure to the saga. Explaining why we experienced a massive death of fish on our coasts is not beyond our scientists within and outside government.
“We were pleased that the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) took samples of the dead fish, sediments and water from some of the affected areas, for analysis after series of outcry from community people, CSOs and other groups.
“NOSDRA issued a press release titled: ‘Alleged Mass Fish Kill Along The Coastline of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States’.
“The title of the statement plays down on, and even questions the fact, of the massive fish kill that was evident in many locations. The title renders the result of the said analysis conducted by the agency questionable,” Bassey said..
The NGO noted that NOSDRA’s conclusion was capable of sweeping the serious issue under the carpet, while the affected communities were left to live with the impact and uncertainties.
HOMEF quoted NOSDRA to have said: “In the light of the foregoing, noting that hydrocarbon were not responsible for the death of the fishes, the plausible cause(s) could partially be attributable to other anthropogenic activities which are probably land-based.
Also reacting to NOSDRA’s findings, Ako Amadi, a Marine Ecologist and former Head, Fisheries Resources Division of NIOMR said:“Fish deaths commonly result from oxygen depletion in the aquatic medium.
“In the case of this recent occurrence in the Niger Delta, mortality were reportedly concentrated on the genus Pseudotolithus, the croaker which is a bottom-feeder.
“It points to the fact that if the deaths had been as a result of ingestion of toxins, the entire food web, that is, the benthic fauna of invertebrates including shrimps, crabs, zooplankton and juvenile fish, must have been affected.
“Evidence could then be deduced from toxicological examination of stomach contents, gills and bladder, or other respiratory and filtration organs of both dead and living croakers for comparison, this has not been the case”. Amadi said
Amadi explained that the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research in Lagos, and related institutions in Port Harcourt and Calabar have enough expertise in this regard.
“The NOSDRA report hardly shows any evidence of possible linkages to sudden increases in water temperature and current variations in the Eastern Gulf of Guinea that could have caused ecological hypoxia (oxygen depletion).
“Also ocean acidification fortified by increased waste (including oil) and heat discharges from coastal industries and shipping as well as from agricultural runoff and mangrove deforestation ought to be examined.
“The NOSDRA conclusions appear not to have been followed by immediate investigations, which infuses credibility cracks into the report.
“I hope that we can see more logical results to these investigations than what NOSDRA has currently presented.
“The short statement by NOSDRA declared twice that the contamination was not from hydrocarbon sources.
“The agency preferred to point fingers elsewhere when they said, “it is commonly observed that most industrial and domestic wastes which contain heavy metal found their ways into drainages and onward transfer to the water bodies.
“ Assuming this is true, it means the incidence was never an act of nature but a pure case of poisoning of the water bodies from sources that have to be stopped.
“The report of laboratory analysis as presented by NOSDRA does not resolve the problem and can be diversionary, “Amadi said.
However, Mr Idris Musa, Director-General of NOSDRA said that the agency was committed to playing its regulatory mandate and remained undeterred in the pursuit of its statutory mandate based on scientific best practices.
Environment
Prolonged Public Holidays Come with Negative Economic Effects on Citizens – Anambra Residents
Anambra residents have slammed the additional day approved by the Federal Government for the Muslim faithful to celebrate the 2024 Eid-Ei-Fitr, saying this will have negative effects on the economy.
The Federal government had early declared April 9 and 10 as Muslim-Ummah for the successful completion of a month’s spiritual rejuvenation.
Reports says that residents of Anambra capital city believe that the additional day which they did not plan for will result in economic hardship to the citizenry.
Most respondents believe that people had planned to resume their economic activities instead of wasting their time staying at home doing nothing..
Former Chairman, Awka Chamber of Commerce, Chief Felly Akosa, described the additional day to the two days approved earlier as “unfair to the economy of the country as people were unprepared for the additional day.
Akosa said that although it is right for the Muslim faithful to celebrate their holiday after a month-long fasting, the process needs to be carefully planned for in place of the additional rest day which could inhibit business activities.
Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, National Vice President of Igbo Apex Social Cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the policy would cause huge economic waste as businesses are put on hold,
He advised that, in future, a proper and well planned programme needs to be in place before declaring a public holiday for any celebration that will be national.
“Our economy and other sectors are not very healthy,” and it would, therefore be appropriate to plan well to avoid declarations that will hamper the citizens’ welfare.
Mazi Christian Beluchukwu, a business man in Awka, described the extension of the Eid-El-Fitr public holiday to Thursday, April 11, as an added hardship for the citizenry.
Beluchukwu said that any public holiday for three days, April 9 to 11, to celebrate any feast in the country is an economic loss to the nation.
He said that it was best to stick to the two-day national public holidays as this gives room for the people to plan their activities very well.
He stated that his wife went to a public hospital on Tuesday and was unattended to because there was no doctor on seat to provide medical attention.
“She resorted to visiting a private hospital which cost extra money which the public hospital is expected to handle at a reasonable cost. (NAN)
The Jos Water Services Corporation (JWSC) has said that the World Bank fund received would be used to boost water supply to Bukuru and environs in Jos South Local Government Area.
Mr Apollos Samchi, the Managing Director of the corporation, said that N1.7 billion would be expended on the rehabilitation of water treatment plant, over head steel tank and laying of pipes to homes of consumers.
Samchi, who disclosed this on Friday in Jos, during a two-day capacity building workshop, said that the projects were expected to be completed in four months.
Reports says that the workshop organised for contractors has at its theme: “Implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for Projects in Jos South.
The MD said that the projects would ensure steady provision of potable water to residents in Gyel and Kurgiya in Jos South Local Government Area.
He said the treatment plant when rehabilitated would pump out 5,000 cubic litres of water daily.
The MD further stated that the reticulation exercise would cover residents who weren’t initially connected to public water supply in the area.
Samchi said that the essence of the workshop was to ensure that the contractors were trained to develop adequate measures and controls to minimise and mitigate potential environmental and social risks that could adversely affect the project implementation.
He called on all the contractors handling the projects to ensure that they adhered to the environmental and safety standards and deliver within the specified timeframe.
In his remarks, Mr Jonathan Malann, the Plateau Project Coordinator, Sustainable Urban, Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (SURWASH), also advised contractors to adhere to the environmental and safety standards as provided by the World Bank.
The Federal Government had received $700m financing from the World Bank to ensure that all its people have access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services.
The seven participating states are Plateau, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Katsina, and Kaduna.(NAN)
The Gombe State Executive Council (SEC) has approved payment of N389 million as compensation for residents that would be affected by the gully erosion control project at Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical and its surrounding communities.
The Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Malam Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.
Magaji said the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.
He said almost 1000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.
According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.
Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.
“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost a 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.
“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they are able to have good livelihood,” he said.
The commissioner for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.
Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.
She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools were already being upgraded to global standards.
“We have seen construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed a N12 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within Gombe metropolis.
The project is under ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria. (NAN)
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