The Nigerian Institute of Environmental Engineers has proposed a ban on vehicles older than 10 years from plying the country’s highways.
It also urged the Lagos State Government to consider the reassignment of officials of the Vehicle Inspection Service to roads to check rickety vehicles that could constitute environmental nuisance.
The institute said its proposals were due to emission of toxic chemicals into air by such vehicles, a situation it decried had led to the death of many Nigerians.
NIEE also said it would continue to partner relevant government agencies at the federal and state levels to address the menace of noise pollution and its attendant risks on the people.
According to a statement on Sunday, the chairman of NIEE, Mr Monsuru Yinusa, spoke during a press briefing in Lagos to commemorate the 2019 World Environment Day with the theme, ‘Air Pollution: Utilisation of Green Technology to Improve Air Quality in Communities.’
Yinusa said air pollution had been described as a major global health epidemic, causing one in nine of all deaths.
He said, “Air pollution kills seven million people each year from exposure to polluted air, both indoors and outdoors.
“The biggest killers attributed to air pollution are: stroke, heart disease, lung disease and cancer.”
Yinusa said report showed that across the world, nine out of 10 people breathed air that had been polluted by vehicle and industrial emissions, hence proposing a ban on vehicles that are older than 10 years from plying the roads.
“Lagos State Government should also consider the reassignment of officials of the Vehicle Inspection Service to the roads to check rickety vehicles that could be constituting environmental nuisance,” he said.
He also encouraged the government to urge residents to embrace vehicle-sharing to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chairman of NIEE, Mr Olalekan Ajani, called for the sustenance of the tree planting culture in the state and urged other states to embrace the idea.
