News
NESREA Moves to Integrate Informal Waste Workers into EPR Framework Through Cooperative Model
NESREA Moves to Integrate Informal Waste Workers into EPR Framework Through Cooperative Model
By: Michael Mike
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has unveiled plans to formally integrate informal waste workers into Nigeria’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework through a Cooperative-Led Model aimed at expanding inclusion, improving environmental compliance and strengthening the circular economy.
Director General of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Professor Innocent Barikor, disclosed this on Wednesday during a virtual stakeholder sensitization programme on the Cooperative-Led Extended Producer Responsibility Model as a formalization strategy for the informal sector.
Barikor said the initiative is designed to bridge long-standing gaps in the EPR ecosystem by bringing informal waste collectors, sorters and recyclers into recognized cooperative structures that provide access to governance systems, financing, digital inclusion, social protection and environmental compliance support.
According to him, the cooperative-led framework would create opportunities for informal operators to gain legal identity and transition gradually into formal economic participants through digital onboarding platforms, traceability systems and a proposed Cooperative Passport framework.
“The Cooperative-Led EPR Model presents an opportunity to organize waste actors into recognized cooperatives, provide them with legal identity, digital inclusion, financial access and social protection, while simultaneously strengthening national EPR implementation and environmental data systems,” he said.
Barikor described the initiative as both a social and economic transformation strategy capable of improving livelihoods while boosting environmental sustainability and data-driven waste management practices.
Chief Steward of the Nigeria Environmental Stewardship Cooperative Society, Dr. Peter Ayim, who presented the framework, said the model offers Nigeria a scalable pathway toward building an inclusive circular economy.
Ayim noted that the cooperative system would help tackle major structural challenges confronting informal waste workers, including lack of formal recognition, poor access to financing, occupational hazards, health and safety concerns, and social exclusion.
He cited countries such as Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa, as well as member states of the European Union, as examples where cooperative-led systems have successfully integrated informal waste actors into structured EPR programmes.
“Global experience confirms that cooperative-led systems are the most effective pathway for integrating informal waste actors into structured EPR frameworks, delivering both environmental sustainability and inclusive economic growth,” he stated.
Stakeholders at the virtual meeting included the Recyclers Association of Nigeria, Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, E-Waste Producers Responsibility Organization of Nigeria and Rural Women Energy Security, among others.
NESREA Moves to Integrate Informal Waste Workers into EPR Framework Through Cooperative Model
Two suspected criminals arrested during patrol in Plateau
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Sector 1 under Operation Enduring Peace have arrested two suspected criminals during a routine patrol in Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau.
Security sources disclosed that the suspects, identified as Azi Ezekiel, 21, and Ajiji Emmanuel, 19, were apprehended at about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday along the road leading to Forbur Village.
The sources said the suspects were intercepted by troops of Sector 1, Sub-Sector 12, while conducting a routine patrol in the area.
According to the sources, the two suspects have been handed over to the Keystone Police Station in Forbur for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The arrest forms part of ongoing security operations aimed at combating criminal activities and enhancing safety across Plateau State.
Two suspected criminals arrested during patrol in Plateau
Troops arrest suspected kidnapper in Plateau community
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Sector 4 of Operation Enduring Peace have arrested a suspected kidnapper during a security operation in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau.
Security sources said the suspect, identified as Mohamdu Surajo, 29, was arrested at about 6:45 p.m. on Friday at Sabon Layi Village following sustained security operations in the area.
The sources disclosed that the suspect is currently in military custody and is undergoing preliminary interrogation to aid ongoing investigations.
They added that the arrest is part of continued efforts by security forces to dismantle criminal networks and enhance security across Plateau State.
Troops arrest suspected kidnapper in Plateau community
Venezuela Solidarity Group Urges U.S. to Lift Sanctions After Deadly Earthquakes
By: Michael Mike
The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) has called for the immediate and unconditional lifting of United States sanctions on Venezuela, arguing that the restrictions are hampering humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts following devastating twin earthquakes that reportedly killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over 50,000 others.
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its coordinator, Comrade Dimeji Macaulay, the group expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the Bolivarian Government, describing the earthquakes as a humanitarian tragedy that has left widespread destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other critical infrastructure.
The organisation extended condolences to families of the victims and praised what it described as the resilience of the Venezuelan people in confronting the disaster despite years of economic hardship.
According to the VSCN, the U.S. sanctions have weakened Venezuela’s capacity to respond effectively to the emergency by limiting access to financial resources and restricting the importation of medicines, equipment, technology and other essential materials.
The group maintained that maintaining the sanctions during a humanitarian crisis amounts to collective punishment against ordinary citizens and called for their permanent removal to facilitate relief operations and long-term reconstruction.
“There can be no moral or legal justification for maintaining an economic blockade against a country struggling to save lives and rebuild after a devastating natural disaster,” the statement said, adding that every day the sanctions remain in force prolongs the suffering of the Venezuelan people.
The campaign also urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to publicly support the removal of the sanctions, strengthen diplomatic relations with Venezuela and contribute to international humanitarian efforts for victims of the disaster.
It further appealed to the African Union to reject unilateral coercive measures, describing them as violations of international law, while calling on African countries to support Venezuela’s recovery.
The group equally called on the United Nations to intensify humanitarian assistance and ensure that sanctions do not obstruct emergency relief operations or reconstruction programmes.
Beyond governments and international organisations, the VSCN appealed to trade unions, youth organisations, civil society groups and progressive political movements across Africa and the wider international community to demonstrate solidarity with Venezuela by opposing what it described as economic warfare and supporting the country’s right to determine its future without external interference.
Reaffirming its commitment to the Venezuelan cause, the organisation said it would continue campaigning until the sanctions are lifted, insisting that Venezuela’s recovery should not be hindered by external political considerations
Venezuela Solidarity Group Urges U.S. to Lift Sanctions After Deadly Earthquakes
Two suspected criminals arrested during patrol in Plateau
Troops arrest suspected kidnapper in Plateau community
One killed, another injured in Fulani Bandits attack as troops arrest suspect in Plateau
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
FAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
News1 year agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Opinions5 years agoPOLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Politics1 year ago2027: Why Hon. Midala Balami Must Go, as Youths in Hawul and Asikira/Uba Federal Constituency Reject ₦500,000 as Sallah Gift
