| MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT Brief History of the Ministry of Environment The Ministry of Environment was created for the first time in Ogun State by the Government of Otunba Gbenga Daniel after its inauguration on the 29th of May 2003. The creation of the Ministry was borne out of the desire of the new administration to give necessary attention to matters relating to maintaining a clean and healthy environment in the State. It is believed that such attention will correct the neglect of the past which resulted in our not being able to sustainable develop our environment and as such we are faced with a situation, where by basic needs of our people are not being met while current consumption and waste levels are already causing serious ecological degradation and these have serious consequences for us and the future generation. In view of this the overall objective of the Ministry is to properly manage the environment of the State.
In order to carry out its mandate effectively and efficiently the Ministry was structured into four departments:
• Finance and Administration whose function is to supervise the activities of the Ministry
• Planning, Research and Statistics whose main functions are collection of data relevant to the functions of the Ministry, processing research findings, environmental education, creation of environmental awareness, managing environmental impact assessment and review of major projects.
• Flood and Erosion Control whose function are to plan the design and construction works to control flood and erosion; coastal erosion and sanitization, reclamation of mined sites and river training and sediment engineering.
• Water Resources and Management is responsible for conservation and water resources management, sewage, environmental control and protection services. THE AGENCIES:
Two Agencies are affiliated to the Ministry. They are the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
OGEPA is an environmental regulator agency with special focus on waste management and pollution control. It was established in 1995 when it had the sole responsibility for the protection and improvement of the environment in the State.
SEMA was set up to work in concert with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to alleviate the pains and sufferings afflicted on our people as a result of varying degrees of disasters which occur from time to time and also educate and synthesize the people on the need to prevent avoidable disasters It was established under the name State Emergency Relief Agency (SERA), a name which it dropped in 2003 for the current name (SEMA). The Programmes of The Ministry:
In order to bring about sound management of the environment for sustainable development, and better quality of life the understated programmes were embarked upon:
(i) Emergency Evacuation of waste from illegal dump sites.
(ii) Integrated waste Management programme (Domestic & Industrial)
(iii) Aggressive inspection and monitoring of industrial facilities for compliance with all relevant environment guidelines, rules and regulations for pollution control.
(iv) Flood control and flood plain mapping
(v) Soil, gully and coastal erosion control
(vi) Assessment and management of disasters
(vii) Environmental Education and Awareness
(viii) Control of Spillage market wares on major roads
(ix) Control of placement of kiosks on major roads.
(x) Design, construction and maintenance of septic treatment plants.
(xi) Design, construction and maintenance of township sewage plants
(xii) Ground water and surface water monitoring |
