Lagos PR conference explores environmental sustainability in Nigeria
The sixth edition in series of the annual Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders Conference was held recently at the Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre in Lagos. Participants were drawn from the public and private sector concerns to deliberate and proffer enduring solutions to current socio-economic challenges of Nigeria.
Organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos State Chapter, the 2019 theme is “Conversations to Promote Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria”. The one day conference was, indeed, well-attended; bringing together in its wake, the relevant stakeholders and concerned interests which cut across industries and government.
Part of the key features of the event was corporate sponsorships by several notable multinationals which reflected the wide corporate membership of the institute. The members include leading financial products and service brands such as Ecobank Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Union Bank, MTN Nigeria, Total Oil among others.
Other sponsoring organisations include the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA)), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among several others.
Declaring open the conference, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was represented at the occasion by Honorable Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the state, Gbenga Omotosho, commended the institute for its various initiatives targeted to promote and positively sensitise the citizenry in line with relevant governance issues in the polity.
According to the governor, the issues of environmental sustainability was key to his administration’s economic policies and informed the recent focus of the government on empowering the state institutions such the Lagos Waste Management Authority towards greater efficiency in the area of waste management across every area of the Lagos mega city project.
The Guest Speaker at the event, Managing Director/CEO of Ecobank, Patrick Akinwuntan represented by Executive Director, Banking Operations, Carol Oyedeji, noted that the issue of environmental sustainability had since grown beyond bounds to now include corporate sustainability in promoting environmental concerns.
According to the bank chief executive, corporate organisations needed to rise up to the tide and deliver solutions that could help to address issues of environmental sustainability through committing sizable portions of their companies’ profit to the cause of environmental sustainability.
Speaking in a similar vein, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, represented at the event by the Executive Director, Legal and Regulatory Services of the Commission, Yetunde Akinloye, observed that disposal of e-waste was no longer a subject of national concern but rather a global challenge.
She added that as at present, the volume of e-waste which she highlighted to include used and expired telephone and computer products was in the neighbourhood of 49 million tones and by the year 2021, the figure could rise to about 60 million tons.
She therefore highlighted the urgent need for concerned stakeholders to think ahead and work out a sustainable mechanism for the disposal of e-waste considering the various hazards of non disposal e-waste to the economy.
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