Preliminary impact assessment approval granted: Minister

The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, has confirmed that the Ministry of Works requested the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the 700 kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal highway last December.

He also stated that the ministry received a preliminary impact assessment certification for site cleanup and compensation scope before the start of the project.

Salako made this statement during a ministerial briefing held on Friday in Abuja to mark World Press Freedom Day 2024. The briefing was monitored by our correspondent.

Nigerians had rebuked Public Works Minister David Umahi for downplaying the ESIA aspect of the N15tn Lagos-Calabar coastal road project during a stakeholders meeting with affected residents in Lagos this week.

Umahi, while answering questions at the meeting on whether preliminary approval had been granted to start the project, or if there were any exceptions, simply stated that everything was in order and assured that they were strictly complying with due process for the highway project. .

The ESIA report evaluates the environmental impact of a plan, policy, program or project before deciding to proceed with the proposed action. It also describes how compensation would be administered.

During the briefing, the minister said the necessary approvals for the project were granted, albeit in phases.

He said, “Now, to answer your question. The Federal Ministry of Works requested an environmental and social impact assessment of the project in December last year and the Ministry of the Environment has carried out its preliminary assessments, and I can confirm that we have issued a preliminary impact assessment certification for the cleanup of the site and the extent of compensation. We have done it and that is what is happening now.

“But you know it’s a very big project, a long road, so it’s not something we can do all at once. That is why we have decided to approach the issuance of the certification in phases so that the project can continue and we can also do our part of the work.”

Salako also addressed concerns about loopholes in the existing law, highlighting that the ministry plans to approach the Federal Executive Council in the coming weeks to address and close these loopholes.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of the Environment applies the law governing environmental assessment. And I can tell you that we take it very, very seriously. We’re not kidding about that. “I can tell you that in recent months we have observed some loopholes in the existing law and we are already approaching the Federal Executive Council to see how to block them.”