The Federal Government has unveiled a raft of measures to tackle air pollution and improve air quality across Nigeria, including a national framework for vehicular and generator emissions testing, expansion of air-quality monitoring stations and accelerated adoption of cleaner fuels.
The government also disclosed plans to implement the National Clean Cooking Policy, with the objective of achieving universal access to clean cooking energy solutions for households and institutions by 2030.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, disclosed this in his keynote address delivered by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Salihu Aminu Usman, at the 2026 commemoration of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies in Abuja.
The event brought together government officials, development partners, environmental experts, civil society organisations, private-sector representatives, academics, the media and other stakeholders to examine Nigeria’s worsening air-pollution challenge and possible solutions.
Lawal described the annual observance, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, as more than a symbolic event, saying it served as a global reminder of the importance of clean air to human survival and wellbeing.
He said the right to breathe clean air affected everyone regardless of age, social status, location or circumstance, stressing that because air was a shared resource, protecting it must also be a collective responsibility.
According to the minister, air pollution remains one of the most serious environmental and public-health challenges confronting the world, with consequences extending to human health, ecosystems, agricultural productivity, livelihoods and community resilience.
He said the challenge was becoming more urgent in Nigeria because of rapid population growth, urbanisation, increasing transportation needs, industrial activities, rising energy demand, waste generation, agricultural practices and continued dependence on polluting fuels.
Lawal cited Nigeria’s ranking as the third most polluted country in Africa in the 2025 World Air Quality Report, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 23.4 micrograms per cubic metre, approximately 4.8 times the World Health Organisation’s annual guideline level.
He said behind the statistics were millions of Nigerians exposed to polluted air every day.
“This is a child breathing polluted air. This is a mother cooking in an environment filled with harmful smoke. This is a commuter navigating congested roads. This is a worker exposed to emissions every day. This is a community living alongside sources of pollution,” he said.
The minister stressed that clean air should therefore not be viewed solely as an environmental issue but as a public-health, economic, social-justice and development concern.
He said the government was determined to pursue economic growth without compromising human health and environmental sustainability.
“Nigeria must grow. But Nigeria must grow in a manner that allows both people and the environment to thrive,” he said.
Lawal disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Environment was working with relevant ministries, departments and agencies, state governments, development partners and other stakeholders to improve air quality through policies, legislation, standards, monitoring and enforcement.
He said the ministry was developing a national framework to guide states establishing vehicular and generator emissions-testing centres.
The framework, he explained, would ensure that the centres operated according to national minimum standards and contributed effectively to reducing emissions from vehicles and generators.
The minister also highlighted the Federal Government’s transition towards cleaner and alternative fuels, particularly the growing adoption of compressed natural gas, CNG, in the transportation sector.
He described the CNG transition as not only an energy and economic intervention but also an opportunity to reduce emissions and improve air quality in Nigerian cities.
The government, he added, was also addressing indoor air pollution through the development and implementation of the National Clean Cooking Policy.
Lawal said efforts to improve air quality would remain incomplete unless pollution inside homes and institutions was addressed, particularly pollution associated with the use of harmful cooking fuels.
He said the policy was designed to achieve universal access to clean cooking energy solutions by 2030, describing the initiative as an important component of the government’s wider environmental and public-health strategy.
“Cooking should not become a health hazard,” he said.
The minister said reliable data would remain central to Nigeria’s air-quality management strategy, disclosing that the ministry was working towards establishing a robust network of air-quality monitoring stations nationwide.
The objective, he said, was to generate reliable and timely information that would support evidence-based policymaking and environmental management.
According to him, the government’s ambition was to enable Nigerians to know, in real time, the quality of the air they were breathing.
Lawal said the ministry had established air-quality monitoring stations in Port Harcourt, Kano and Lagos, alongside the development of a mobile application capable of providing real-time Air Quality Index information.
He acknowledged that the initiative represented only the beginning, stressing that additional efforts would be required to achieve comprehensive nationwide monitoring.
The minister also disclosed that the ministry was engaging stakeholders in developing national policies on air-quality management, alongside a youth-led national clean-air programme.
Under the programme, young Nigerian celebrities and high-net-worth individuals would be encouraged to become clean-air ambassadors and help raise public awareness about the dangers of air pollution.
He said the National Clean Air Campaign, launched in September 2025, was also designed to take the conversation on air pollution beyond technical and government circles and into the wider consciousness of Nigerians.
“Ultimately, a policy succeeds not merely when it is written, but when it changes behaviour and improves lives,” Lawal said.
Speaking at the event, Founder and Executive Director of the Save the Planet Initiative and ecotoxicologist specialising in air pollution, Benjamin Suleiman, called for urgent collective action to confront the health consequences of polluted air.
Suleiman said his research into air pollution had demonstrated its harmful effects on human health, stressing that the issue required far greater public attention.
He cited global reports which, according to him, attributed about 8.4 million deaths to air pollution, with Africa accounting for a significant proportion.
He warned that children were particularly vulnerable, noting that exposure to air pollution had been associated with serious health conditions, including cancer and atherosclerosis, while also worsening other diseases.
“I want to say for a fact that we all need to come together as a group and as a unit to make sure that we address this menace which has actually affected our health negatively,” he said.
Suleiman disclosed that he had conducted research into traffic-related air pollution, including laboratory studies involving mice exposed to pollutants such as PM2.5 and carbon monoxide.
He said the study examined the effects of traffic pollutants on the health of the laboratory animals and provided indications of the potential consequences of prolonged exposure among people living and working in polluted environments.
According to him, significant changes were observed in the lungs of mice exposed to traffic pollution after 30 days, while deaths were also recorded during the research.
He said such studies were important for generating scientific evidence capable of informing public-health interventions and pollution-control measures.
Suleiman also disclosed that he conducted a public-health perception study in Ojota, Lagos, to determine residents’ understanding of the health consequences of air pollution.
He said the study revealed that many residents were unaware of the potential health effects associated with prolonged exposure to polluted air.
The findings, he added, informed his organisation’s decision to organise a World Environment Day event in June involving transport organisations and other stakeholders.
He said the engagement revealed that some participants were experiencing symptoms they had not previously associated with exposure to air pollution.
Suleiman identified vehicle emissions, industrial activities, bush burning and other human activities as major sources of air pollution.
He stressed that the responsibility for addressing the problem should not rest solely with government, urging communities, young people, market women, transport workers and other citizens to become actively involved.
“This whole responsibility is not on the government alone,” he said.
The environmental expert also highlighted the EcoGenius programme, an initiative of the Save the Planet Initiative aimed at engaging young Nigerians in addressing environmental challenges.
He said the programme was based on the belief that members of Generation Z possessed the innovation and energy required to contribute meaningful solutions to environmental problems.
According to him, the initiative, launched with the support of the Lagos State Commissioner responsible for Youth and Social Development, focuses on mentoring students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
He disclosed that the programme had attracted close to 1,000 members, with young environmental advocates undergoing training to prepare them for leadership roles in environmental sustainability.
Meanwhile, Lawal urged the private sector to invest in cleaner technologies, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, responsible waste management and low-emission production systems.
He also called on civil society and community organisations to intensify awareness campaigns, engage citizens, advocate stronger environmental action and hold relevant institutions accountable.
Research and academic institutions, he said, must continue to generate the scientific knowledge and innovations required to address emerging environmental challenges, while the media should help translate complex scientific information into messages that ordinary citizens could understand and act upon.
The minister further urged young Nigerians to move beyond being recipients of environmental policies and become partners, innovators and champions of a cleaner future.
He called on stakeholders to make the 2026 commemoration a turning point in Nigeria’s battle against air pollution.
“Let this year’s commemoration be more than another annual event. Let it be a turning point. Let it renew our determination to make clean air an integral part of Nigeria’s environmental health and development agenda,” he said.
Lawal said Nigeria needed cities where economic activities and environmental responsibility could coexist, industries capable of producing without poisoning the environment, wider access to clean energy and transportation systems that would move people without compromising the quality of the air they breathe.
Suleiman, while commending the Federal Ministry of Environment for its efforts to mitigate air pollution, urged greater attention to systems that would enable Nigerians to reduce their exposure to polluted environments.
Both the government and environmental experts stressed that sustained collaboration among government agencies, private organisations, communities, researchers, young people, civil society organisations and the media would be critical to achieving meaningful and lasting improvements in Nigeria’s air quality.
Lawal said clean air had no political, religious, geographical or social boundaries, describing it as a common resource and a shared responsibility.
“If we act together, we can build a Nigeria where the skies are not only blue over us, but blue above our cities; where clean air is not only a privilege of the few, but a reality for all; and where development is measured not only by what we do, but also by the quality of life we create,” he said.
Michael Olugbode
Follow us on:
