The French Government has awarded €250,00, over 500 million naira to five tertiary institutions in Nigeria to help them combat plastic pollution.
The project tagged French Embassy Fund (FEF) is part of the French Government’s global effort to encourage proper plastic waste management and young Nigerian researchers to develop innovative ideas in addressing pollution.
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 these five have been selected because of their excellence they are all very good projects as scientific projects and result-oriented projects.
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 being 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.
”At moment like this, we have cause to be proud of our university brand because it’s a huge recognition of the tremendous work that our research has continued to render, sometimes underreported and for me this is a moment of joy” He 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.
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.
Reporting by Seyi Ajibade; Editing by Omolola Ameen-FRCN
