‘Nigeria loses N289bn annually to gas flaring’ Chime plans mass transfer of teachers

A senior lecturer in the department of Zoology and professor of Hydrobiology in the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Anthony William Akpan, has said that Nigeria loses approximately $1.79 billion dollars (N289.60 billion) annually to gas flaring.

Professor Akpan said this yesterday while delivering the 38th inaugural lecture of the institution. He regretted that despite the penalties prescribed for gas flaring, many companies are still flaring because “the penalty is cheaper than the cost of re-injection of the gas”.

“The extant law that deals with gas flaring in Nigeria is the associated Gas Re-injection Act of 1979 and its 1985 amendments that provides for the utilization of gas produced in association with oil for the re-injection of such associated gas not utilized in an industrial project,’’ he said.

The professor added that with oil production figure about 2.0 million barrels per day, it is estimated that an average of 2.0 billion standard cubic feet of associated gas is produced daily, most of which is flared.

He said such has serious consequences for the environment, and makes the country the highest flarer of gas in the world. Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has said that there will be massive transfer of teachers from urban to rural areas in the state.

Speaking at a delegates conference of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Enugu State wing, in Enugu, Chime said teachers are over-concentrated in urban schools.

He said that although the state had more than 25,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools, there were fewer teachers in rural schools than urban ones.

Chime, represented by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Chris Okoro, said most teachers were not interested in teaching in rural areas. He said the number of teachers in Nsukka was too high for the schools in the town, while the reverse was the case in the rural areas.

The governor also complained about the attitude of the teachers to work, saying that some of them go to work twice in a week, while some don’t even go to work for up to two weeks in a stretch.He urged the new leadership of the union to work with the ministry to enhance teaching and learning, especially in the rural areas.

National president of the union, Mr Michael Olukoya, said the union would promote peace, unity and understanding among its members to assist the government in achieving its programmes. ( NAN)