The 10^th National Council on Environment which held in Lafia, Nasarawa State in Northern Nigeria , was yesterday brought to an end with Environment Ministry keen on its mandate of "empowering people, tackling climate action and protecting the environment" as consistently voiced by the Environment Minister, Amina J. Mohammed.

The five day event which drew delegates from the 36 states in Nigeria and also the federal government had its theme as "Environment and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria – Empowering People, Taking Climate Action and Protecting the Environment".

The Minister stated that the Federal Government wants to address the challenges of indiscriminate disposal of plastics and bags in the country as well as open defecation- which has aided the spread of Cholera in some parts of the country-  with the launch of the "clean and green campaign".

According to the Ministry of Environment, the following are the outcome of the Council:

i) A Communiqué on the Decisions reached by the Council

ii) Signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between Federal Ministry of Environment and the Nasarawa State Government on Partnership and Collaboration

iii) A Council Report on the outcome of decisions on the submitted Council Memoranda by the Fed Ministry, MDAs and other stakeholders for consideration and further necessary action.

iv) Launch of Eco-Hub, a web-based platform for information and knowledge sharing among Ministers and Hon. Commissioners of Environment.

It is great that the Ministry is prioritizing initiatives that will remove wastes from our streets turning them to waste and there has been tremendous progress with this current administration in the Ministry of Environment especially in moving their activities which were hitherto offline online. But one thing that will delight me more is seeing Nigeria ban plastic bag soon. From the body language of the Minister, it seems she doesn't want to rush it.