Air Pollution: Nigerians at risk of lung cancer, stroke

Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed on Monday said larger percent of the nation’s population is at risk of lung cancer, stroke and other chronic respiratory disease due to exposure to toxic emissions. Speaking in Abuja at the 10th national stakeholders forum of National Environment Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Mohammed said thousands of people […]

Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed on Monday said larger percent of the nation’s population is at risk of lung cancer, stroke and other chronic respiratory disease due to exposure to toxic emissions.
Speaking in Abuja at the 10th national stakeholders forum of National Environment Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Mohammed said thousands of people die prematurely as a result of the inhalation of the noxious emissions from stationary and mobile sources of air pollution.
“The air we breathe in is at great peril. Thousands of our people die prematurely every year because of air quality,” she said.
According to her,there have also been several cases of road accidents caused by reduced visibility due to emissions from automobiles, saying  air pollution is also contributing significantly to global warming and climate change.
“Improving air quality in our country is a collective responsibility, involving all sector players at federal and state levels, including the government, private sector, civil society, faith-based organization, trade unions, the academia, the professional associations, as well as media and the citizenry”, she added.
In his remark, Director-General of NESREA, Dr. Lawrence Anukam, said the agency was responsible for enforcing all environmental laws, guidelines, standards and regulation to check processes or usage of technology that undermine environmental quality.
He acknowledged dangers of air pollution to survival of the people and the ecosystem, saying the forum would sensitize the public on the environmental and human health implications of environmental degradation.
He identified measures taken to check the worrying situation as compendium of best environmental practices for the control of air pollution from stationary and mobile sources, political will and shared vision for implementation of air quality control programmes in Nigeria.