We Pay 64 Contractors N8bn Annually To Manage Waste In FCT –Minister

The Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Dr Ramatu Aliyu has said that about N8bn is spent annually on waste management in the Federal Capital City and the satellite towns.

The minister made the disclosure in a statement issued by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Austine Elemue, on Sunday in Abuja.

The statement said the minister spoke at the maiden edition of the Annual General Meeting and Induction of Waste Management Association of Nigeria (WAMASON), FCT Council, in Abuja.

She was quoted as saying that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) spent an average of N6bn, while the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) spent N2bn on waste management annually.

Aliyu said that this brought the total to N8bn to pay over 64 cleaning contractors, engaged in the management of waste in the nation’s capital.

She called on communities to adopt sustainable waste management practices, “which include sorting at source, composting of organic waste for horticultural/agricultural purposes amongst others.”

Speaking on the theme: “Waste management in a circular economy, financing stakeholders engagement and enforcement,” Aliyu also called for the transition to circular economy for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria.

She said that in a circular economy virtually nothing was discarded, stressing that products and materials were kept in circulation.

“For as long as possible by designing them to be more durable, reusable, repairable and recyclable.

“It is clear that waste management is a cross-cutting environmental issue, impacting many aspects of our society and the economy.

“It has strong linkages to a range of other global challenges such as health, food and resource security, sustainable consumption and production, climate change and poverty reduction,” Aliyu was quoted as saying in the statement.

She said the FCT Administration had been working assiduously in ensuring that new opportunities for sustainable growth were provided through increased budgetary provisions on waste management related services.