In a bid to bridge the gap between the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) and other line agency like National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and move the profession of sanitation forward the duo agencies have met to form synergy on practice regulations.
Speaking at the meeting in Abuja recently, the Registrar, EHORECON, Sanitarian Dominic Abonyi stated that environmental health practice have up to 17 facets of environmental health practice and out of these facets up to eight or nine are practiced in NESREA through its mandate.
The Registrar posited that part of the job of the Council is to look at these service areas, be it in NESREA, NOSDRA and any other service agency to see if there is manpower and bridge it.
According to Mr. Abonyi, the National Universities Commission (NUC) had given approval to three Universities, namely Bayero University, Kano, Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka and University of Ife to mount environmental health programmes and produce professionals at this level.
The Registrar revealed that Council in its wisdom in 2009 decided that individual(s) who are already practicing as scientific officers and who may wish to become environmental health officers need to do one thing, which is, to realign and get all of them on our register, he enthused.
Earlier in his speech, the Director General, National Environmental Standard and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Dr. Lawrence Anukam acknowledged the role being played by EHORECON, saying environment is everything around you adding that you must understand a bit of the economy of the environment, you must understand the religion of the environment and you must understand the culture of that environment.
Dr. Anukam while extoling the role being played by sanitary inspectors, however went down memory lane, saying it was an abomination by every African culture for anyone to use chemicals to fish, even to burn bush leathers, you need to plan it properly.
According to NESREA boss, the whole concept had grown to sustainable development but the origin of that is Africa and back to African professionalism.
Dr. Anukam further, reiterated that he wants the relationship between EHORECON and NESREA to be more cordial, saying that cordial is the major word but we look at where we are going to have a lot of more synergy adding also, that ‘’we look at the area of commonality so that you can use your leverage as a big regulator in training”.
He however appreciated the Council for the visit stating that any activity to be organised by the Council, he would make sure that NESREA would be present if invitation is extended to them.
Signed:
Kehinde A. Openibo
Head, (Press and Public Communications)
For: Registrar
