The Federal Government has begun the implementation of the National Generator Emission Control Programme (NGECP) to address pollution from generator sources.
Speaking at the official implementation of the programme in Abuja recently, the Director General of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr Lawrence Anukam, said the programme will be fully implemented by January 2019.
The programme, which seeks to inspect generator sets used both for industrial and household purposes, will attract a penalty for failure to comply with the directives according to the law.
Dr Anukam noted that about 60 million Nigerians invested about N1.6 trillion to purchase and maintain standby generators annually according to statistics by the Centre for Management Development.
The NESREA boss said clean air is something that all need for good health and the wellbeing of humans, animals, and plants, but that sadly the atmosphere is being continuously polluted.
While noting that atmospheric pollution is gradually becoming a serious menace in Nigerian cities, especially in the metropolitan areas, where the use of power generating sets has become an alternative to power supply, Anukam said the exercise would also capture commercial areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the pilot phase, after which it would be extended to other states across the country.
According to him, the essence of NGECP is to guarantee cleaner environment and contribute to economic growth of the country, adding that Nigeria is considering achieving 30 percent of energy efficiency in industries, homes, businesses, vehicles and renewable energy.
The NESREA boss said the programme would assist the Federal Government in taking inventory of the model, age, location and type of generators currently in use in the country, adding that it would discourage the use of Nigeria as dumping ground for dead and overused equipment.
