Nigeria Customs Service last week raised alarm that Nigeria is a potential dump site for toxic waste, saying it does not have the expertise to test importation of certain chemicals.
Speaking on the occasion of this year’s World Customs Day celebrations, acting Comptroller General of Customs, Dr Bernard- Shaw Nwadialo said that the service can not ascertain the composition of certain chemical imports into the country, because it does not have the equipment to carry out the required tests.
“We do not have a firm grip of what is coming into the country. Customs officers need training to have full knowledge of what kind of chemical are being imported into the country,” he said, adding, there was not even a single laboratory anywhere in the country where customs officers could conduct chemical analysis”, he lamented..
He was speaking on account of the theme of this year’s customs day which was, “Customs and the Environment: Protecting our Natural heritage.”
Dr. Nwadialo said it was regrettable that despite request for the establishment of chemical testing laboratories at the borders 11 years ago, there has been no response on the part of thew government.
He confirmed that chemicals suspected to be harmful are finding their ways into the country, but lamented that Customs could not do anything to stop it.
The absence of the facilities he said is making Nigeria more vulnerable to dumping of toxic waste
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