Impact assessment of the National environmental Institution in Nigeria on environmental protection

Abstract

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa is also rich in natural environmental components which must be protected in view of the global environmental threats. Over the years, the country has been a major player in Africa, participating in almost every global decision in the current global environmental era. One of the landmark achievements of Nigeria in its leadership in Africa is the fact that the country was the first to set up a formal environmental institution with the establishment of now defunct Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) in 1988.2 In her wisdom and policy, the Federal Government of Nigeria merged FEPA and other relevant Departments in other Ministries to form the Federal Ministry of Environment in 1999 by way of policy without an appropriate enabling law on enforcement issues in relation to environmental protection.3 This situation undoubtedly created a lacuna in the effective enforcement of environmental laws, standards and regulations in the country. In order to address this ugly trend, the Federal Government, pursuant to section 20 of the Constitution,4 enacted National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency