Minister of State for Environment Dr Iziaq Salako has urged Nigerians to embrace the attitude  of going greener and staying clean  as a collective way to build a healthier and more sustainable future for all.

Salako stated this at the weekend in commemoration of 2024 National Environmental Sanitation Day held in Chika, a community in the federal capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja.

The programme was tagged;  “Environmental sanitation in the Era of Climate Change, Go Green, Stay Clean Climate Change is Real.” 

He said,  “staying clean should not just be a catchy phrase to us, but about respecting ourselves, our communities, and the environment we share. It encompasses personal hygiene, maintaining clean homes and public spaces, and responsible waste disposal.”

The minister also highlighted the importance of safe sanitation practices, while ensuring that waste management throughout the sanitation chain doesn’t pollute the environment.

He said, going greener is our call to action, a call to adopt eco-friendly practices that shrink our carbon footprint and safeguard natural resources for generations to come. This means embracing renewable energy, planting trees, and minimizing waste.

“Our presence here today is to underscore our agenda to transform Chika into a model community for good environmental sanitation practices that can inspire positive changes in other communities. 

“This is a vision that will require maximum participation of all stakeholders including the residents, community leadership, local government authorities, NGOs, CSOs, agencies of FCDA and the line ministries of the federal government.

“I therefore urge all concerned to play their part and practically demonstrate the power of collaboration, and synergy in making our communities clean, sanitary and safe”, he added.

Similarly, the representative of World Health Organization, Dr. Alexander Chimbaru, said “by going greener, we should adopt environmental friendly practices such as recycling, composting, tree planting, reducing waste, supporting renewable energy sources to help the planet combat climate change.

According to Chimbaru, climate change impacts is  affecting health in many ways.

He said it includes illnesses that leads to death, increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems.

He said “It is high time Nigeria promoted actions that can both reduce carbon emissions and improve health.