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By Chinenye Anuforo
The Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF) has urged businesses and residents in Lagos and Enugu to explore shared solar power systems and other cleaner energy alternatives to reduce dependence on generators and limit exposure to air pollution.
The foundation said unreliable electricity supply had forced many businesses to depend on petrol and diesel generators, exposing workers, customers and residents in surrounding communities to harmful emissions.
CADEF’s Executive Director, Prof. Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, made the call at the Neighbourhood Power Protocol (NPP) Stakeholders’ Engagement Dialogue, themed “Consumers for Clean Air,” in Lagos.
“The problem is not that businesses are using generators. The problem is that we don’t have reliable energy,” she said, noting that generator emissions affect people beyond the premises where the machines are operated.
“It lands where you sleep, it lands where you eat, it lands where you do business, it lands in your office,” she added.
The six-month Neighbourhood Power Protocol campaign, supported by Consumers International, has engaged 50 businesses across selected locations in Lagos and reached businesses and organisations in Enugu.
The initiative examines how diesel generator emissions from commercial businesses affect people who work, shop and live nearby, while promoting consumer awareness, responsible business practices and the adoption of cleaner energy options.
At the dialogue, findings from air-quality monitoring conducted at Allen and Kudirat Abiola in Lagos were presented. Ndukwe-Okafor said the Air Quality Index (AQI) readings were 37 and 53 respectively, while PM2.5 readings at Kudirat Abiola were about 72 per cent higher than those recorded at Allen.
She, however, cautioned against treating the figures as a comprehensive assessment of air quality in either neighbourhood, explaining that pollution levels vary with the time of day, season, rainfall, traffic, construction activities and generator use.
“Depending on when you measure the air quality, it really determines the kind of air quality you get,” she said, explaining that measurements taken early in the morning could differ from those recorded when traffic and generator use increased.
The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) collected and analysed the data from two monitoring sites. Ndukwe-Okafor said a more comprehensive comparison would require a full-year study using the same instruments and methods across locations.
Although the monitoring findings presented at the dialogue were from Lagos, CADEF’s campaign also reached businesses and organisations in Enugu, extending the clean-air and consumer-awareness message beyond the commercial areas studied in Lagos.
The campaign is encouraging businesses in both states to examine the environmental and health implications of their energy choices and consider practical alternatives to conventional generators.
Ndukwe-Okafor urged business owners to calculate their spending on generator fuel and maintenance and compare the costs with available cleaner-energy solutions, including solar systems that can be financed through leases or instalment payments.
“You don’t have to buy it upfront. You can come together on your street and put solar in place. Everybody does not need a generator,” she said.
She added that businesses operating along the same streets or within markets could pool resources to establish shared solar systems or explore mini-grids, reducing the need for every business to operate an individual generator.
She called for financing arrangements that would make cleaner energy accessible to small businesses that might struggle with the initial cost of installing solar systems.
“Practical and affordable pathways exist. This is something we should ask for,” she said.
Environmental expert, Dr Olorunwa Marcus, said air pollution resulted from multiple sources, including vehicle emissions, generators, industrial activities, dust and waste burning.
He urged businesses and government agencies to tackle pollution at its source, protect workers from exposure and strengthen air-quality monitoring to guide interventions.
“Clean air is a shared responsibility,” he said, adding that reducing emissions at their source was central to preventing pollution.
Marcus stressed the need for reliable data to assess the scale of pollution and determine whether interventions were producing measurable improvements.
“We cannot work in the abstract. We need appropriate and empirical data,” he said.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s Head of Quality Assurance and Development Unit, Akinwumi Ishola, said consumers also had a responsibility to seek information about products and report business practices that could expose them to health risks.
“We may not buy air, but we all consume it. And while we pay for fuel to power generators, we also pay for the effects of the smoke we inhale,” he said.
Ishola urged consumers to seek clear information before purchasing generators, solar panels and batteries, and to report products they believe pose health or safety risks.
He also advised businesses to maintain their generators properly and position them to prevent exhaust fumes from affecting neighbouring homes and workplaces.
“Where you site your generator matters. You cannot direct smoke away from your business and towards your neighbour,” he said.
The dialogue brought together regulators, businesses, consumers, community representatives, civil society groups and energy stakeholders to examine the implications of air pollution and discuss cleaner-energy options.
Participating businesses were also invited to make voluntary clean-energy commitments as part of efforts to encourage responsible energy use and reduce the impact of commercial generator emissions on surrounding communities.
