Nigeria does not have an engineered (proper) sanitary landfill site or any other acceptable final disposal facility where refuse and other wastes can be appropriately dumped which results in serious health problems an environmentalist has said.

Mr Ebisike Augustine, who is the Registrar of Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria, said in an address at the National Waste Management in Lagos, that what is practiced is the dumping of wastes at various dumping locations leading to serious consequences to public health.

He said: "From my humble position, I dare say the neglect of this sector is a very big national disaster in the making as our ground water supplies are at the mercy of laechates of toxic chemicals from these unregulated dump sites."

He also said the country does not have operational municipal incinerators, saying however that the council is convinced that the sector can be pulled out of this abysmal situation to become a very lucrative sector, with the potential from major growth employing over one million people in its services while generating over one billion naira annually as profit.

Mr. Augustine said: "for this picture to emerge, the myriad of companies have to be made to professionalise their practice, meeting minimum standards of practice and attracting funding for expansion."

He said sanitary collection, transportation and final disposal of wastes of all descriptions, in a manner that does not endanger health is regulated by environmental health officers worldwide, saying that the regulation of the processes involved, improving the sector and its service delivery becomes an immediate challenge posed to the council as the regulator of the profession.