PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT: FRENCH GOVT DOLES #500M AS GRANT TO 5 NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS FOR RESEARCH
"It is a game-changing opportunity to have the French government support research along the specifics of plastic waste disposal." Mr. Chris Maiyaki , Executive Secretary, NUC
"It is a contribution to resuscitating the research culture at our universities because research is at the heart of your existence as a university."
"The idea is to show to the global community that with little or no financial resources, the world could still rid its environment of plastic waste." Thierry Valentin, Head of Cooperation and Cultural Affairs in the French Embassy.
Five tertiary institutions in Nigeria have received a total of €250,000 euros (about #500m) from the French Government as part of its support to help them combat plastic pollution.
The Project which is tagged as French Embassy Fund (FEF), is part of the French Government’s global effort to encourage proper plastic waste management and assist young Nigerian researchers to develop innovative ideas for a safer environment.
At the official inauguration of the FEF Waste Management in Nigerian Campuses Project in Abuja, the Head of Cooperation and Cultural Affairs in the French Embassy, Thierry Valentin said the idea is to show to the global community that with little or no financial resources, the world could still rid its environment of plastic waste.
“We had a lot of good projects and these five tertiary institutions have been selected because of their excellence. They are all very good projects as scientific projects and result-oriented projects.
"We want to face the huge question of plastic pollution here in Nigeria. The wish is to show with a few examples that it can work. We want to showcase good solutions with few resources.” He stated.
Mr Valentin described the project as revolutionary as it would not only benefit the university communities but all the areas where such an initiative is been implemented.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) Mr. Chris Maiyaki described the feat as a sweet victory for Nigerian universities due to what he termed as a perceived impression about a decline in the intellectual space affecting Nigerian universities and Nigerian graduates.
“There is this impression about a decline in the intellectual space affecting Nigerian universities and Nigerian graduates.
He stressed that, "It is a game-changing opportunity to have the French government support research along the specifics of plastic waste disposal.
"It is a contribution to resuscitating the research culture at our universities because research is at the heart of your existence as a university.” He further said.
One of the beneficiary universities, the University of Delta, Agbor, pledged to implement its plastic waste management project promptly.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Stella Chiemeke emphasized the project's importance for both the university and the local community.
“Delta State University, you know, the area is erosion prone, and then, you know, in an institution, you see a lot of wastes, like plastic wastes. And when there is heavy downpour, you see that all the drains are filled up with all these plastic wastes.
"It is really honor that we were invited; a lot of universities were invited to write research proposals on the plastic waste management. We are going to go back now to start the work in earnest to ensure that we have a clean campus, a clean environment, and then the community at large also benefit from the project.” She noted.
The benefiting tertiary institutions are Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Alex Ekwueme Funai University, Ebonyi; Delta State University, Agbor, University of Calabar; and the Yaba College of Technology, Akoka, Lagos.
In June 2024, the embassy launched a plastic waste management project worth €753,000 to help universities across Nigeria develop innovative, adaptive, and sustainable project ideas addressing plastic pollution.
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