The Association for Environmental Impact Assessment of Nigeria (AEIAN) has called for the harmonization and digitization of the country’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system to support sustainable national development.
The President of the association, Dr. Abbas Suleiman, made the call while addressing participants at the 2025 Annual National Conference (ninth edition) and Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday in Lagos.
The event had the theme: “Institutional Strengthening of Impact Assessment Policies and Regulations in Nigeria.”
Suleiman said Nigeria’s rapid expansion in infrastructure, industrial zones, energy, agribusiness and transport projects had increased pressure on ecosystems, making institutional reforms in EIA administration a national priority.
According to him, EIA remains the critical instrument that ensures development does not compromise environmental integrity.
“For EIA to be effective, institutions must be strong, mandates must be clear, processes must be transparent, and professionals must be equipped,” he said.
He said Nigeria had made progress with sectoral regulations, stronger agencies and improved public awareness but still faced gaps that weakened environmental governance, 32 years after the enactment of the EIA Act.
He listed the lingering challenges as overlapping and conflicting mandates among regulators, bureaucratic delays, weak post-EIA monitoring, inadequate equipment and weak data systems.
Others, he said, included limited capacity in emerging areas such as climate risk assessment, cumulative impact assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment and biodiversity offsets.
Suleiman also identified poor community engagement, fragmented databases and inconsistent information flow between institutions as obstacles to effective implementation.
“These institutional challenges are not failures but opportunities for reform,” he said.
He outlined key reforms required to strengthen the national EIA system, including legislative updates to the EIA Act, policy harmonization among regulators, a unified project screening system and clearer guidelines for inter-agency collaboration.
He said Nigeria must fully digitize its impact assessment processes through a central online platform that would host project registration, public disclosures, review timelines, decision tracking and compliance monitoring.
He added that professionalism in the sector must be enhanced through certification pathways, updated technical guidelines, national training modules and continuous professional development for practitioners.
“EIA approval should not be the end of the process—it is only the beginning.
“Stronger monitoring, better laboratories, drone and satellite-based surveillance, and community-driven reporting must be prioritized,” he said.
He stressed the need to integrate climate change considerations, public health, gender inclusion, human rights safeguards and nature-based solutions into modern environmental assessments.
Suleiman said AEIAN would continue to support government efforts and partner with ministries, regulatory agencies, universities, development partners and the private sector to strengthen environmental governance nationwide.
He urged regulators, consultants, academics, industry players, communities and government institutions to work together to improve EIA implementation and ensure environmental safeguards remain central to Nigeria’s development priorities.
“Let us move from paper compliance to real environmental outcomes, and from fragmentation to institutional strength,” he said.
The conference also featured the inauguration of AEIAN’s Lifetime Achievement Awards to honor pioneers of EIA practice in Nigeria.
Recipients included Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, Ms. Anne Ene-Ita, Emeritus Prof. Babatunde Alo, Prof. Oladele Osibanjo and Asiwaju Anthony Ojeshina.
Additional awards were presented to key contributors to AEIAN’s growth, including Prof. Bode Gbenle, Dr. Banji Adekoya, Dr. Ahmed Sanda, Prof. Ijeoma Vincent-Akpu, Dr. John Alonge, Mrs. Bolanle Bolorunduro and Mrs. Rofikat Odetoro, the current Director of EIA at the Federal Ministry of Environment.
