Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Lagos state is said to have lost $2.1 billion due to the adverse effect of pollution, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on pollution in major cities of the world.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu disclosed this on Friday when he inaugurated the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Pollution control in Nigeria. Onu explained that the World Health Organisation’s report emphasised that women and children have lost their lives due to the menace of pollution.
He said: “The (WHO) report said Lagos has a higher level of pollution than what is acceptable and the cost is heavy in terms of human lives and revenue to the nation”. He charged the committee to find relevant solutions to help mitigate the challenge, as pollution could disrupt socio-economic activities.
The committee comprises directorate level staff of the concerned Ministries, and has two weeks to come up with their report.
Ministries in the committee include Science and Technology, Transportation; Environment; Health; Aviation; Industry, Trade and Investment; Petroleum Resources and Ecological Fund Office in the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s Office.