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Coca-Cola Foundation Pledges To Boost Environmental Sustainability, Partners Recycles Pay And Clean Up Naija
The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded grants to the Africa Clean Up Initiative, pioneers of the famous Recycles Pay and Clean-Up Naija project.
This is in line with Coca-Cola’s commitment to fostering a World Without Waste, as these grants are aimed at bolstering efforts to reduce waste created by food and beverage packaging waste and other non-biodegradable substances.
The financial grants will help fund the expansion of the Recycles Pay project, which had immense success in the pilot phase, as well as the Clean Up Naija initiative.
This Recycles Pay is a remarkable program targeted at low-tuition schools, in which parents have the opportunity to pay their ward’s fees with plastic bottles. It is an initiative created to provide solutions to educational and environmental issues in rural areas of Nigeria.
To help increase the capacity of the project, The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded grants towards ensuring that a minimum of 20 new schools are reached across multiple states with about 2,000 children kept in school through this initiative.
The Recycles Pay Educational Project launched on February 7, 2020, at Isrina Schools, Ajegunle, Lagos with excited parents and teachers in attendance.
The second project, Clean Up Naija, is community-led and will be carried out across multiple states in a bid to deliver a clean and healthy environment.
The initiative seeks to get volunteers to help clean-up communities to foment a cleaner and more sustainable environment. African Clean Up Initiative, with the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation grant, targets to achieve 20 cleanup events across Nigeria within the calendar year. The series of cleanups are poised to kick off on February 22 at Obalende- Lagos.
Extending his gratitude to The Coca-Cola Foundation for the grants awarded, Alexander Akhigbe, founder of the African Clean Up Initiative, said: “I would like to thank The Coca-Cola Foundation for awarding us with these incredible grants.
“To be noticed by them shows that we have done important work so far. These grants will no doubt prove useful in increasing our capacity as an organisation and helping us impact more lives through our projects.”
Speaking on the grants awarded, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Manager Coca-Cola Nigeria; remarked on the company’s efforts at creating shared opportunities in communities where they do business.
“The Coca-Cola Foundation is delighted to partner with The African Clean Up Initiative to upscale the Recycles pay and Cleanup Naija projects.
“This is an important partnership for underserved communities – ensuring children from underprivileged homes remain in school and identifying new ways to prevent plastic waste from littering our environment and entering our rivers and oceans.
“The World Without Waste strategy of The Coca-Cola Company and The Foundation’s focus on recycling and behavioural-change projects highlight the need for greater collaboration between business, governments, charitable organizations, researchers and NGOs to make this happen. We believe projects such as the Recycles pay and Clean-up Naija programs are a real and effective means of working together to deliver real change around the world.”
Hon. Aboluwodi Solomon, educational secretary, Akeromi-Ifelodun L.G.A, lauded the Recycles Pay initiative and praised The Coca-Cola Foundation for supporting it: “I am very delighted to see the smiles on these parents’ faces. You can tell that their lives have been impacted and that makes me very happy.
“I would also like to thank Coca-Cola for supporting this project, this initiative is an important and innovative one and their support means many more many children can get access to education while also ensuring that our environment is being rid of plastic waste.”
He further stated that this ties into the Lagos State Blue box programme and gave his commitment to ensure that more schools in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government join this noble initiative.
One of the recipients, Patience Onukwu, expressed her gratitude to the African Clean Up Initiative and Coca-Cola. According to her, the Recycles Pay program has given her and her kids a new lease on life: “When I heard of Recycles Pay and what it was about, I could not believe it.
“Using plastic to pay your child’s school fees? I thought it was a lie until I decided to try my hand.
“Today all my 3 children’s school fees are paid from plastic packaging waste proceeds. Recyclepays program has changed my life and that of my children for the better and I cannot thank the organisers enough.” she said.
Since its launch in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation offers community support programs that have led to the improvement of the quality of life of the communities around the World.
Driven by a need to create a better-shared future for the communities we live and work in, The Coca-Cola Foundation has contributed more than $1 billion to help protect the environment, promote recycling, empower women and enhance communities around the world.
National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system to strengthen legal identity management and improve demographic data.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday, Mr Afolabi Yori, federal commissioner representing Kogi, said the initiative became operational nationwide on July 1, through the VitalReg platform.
Yori described the development as a landmark in Nigeria’s civil registration system, noting that it would modernise birth and death registration through a technology-driven platform that meets international standards.
He said the digital platform would improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria was accurately documented and securely stored.
According to him, civil registration is more than an administrative process, as it provides reliable statistics that support public policy formulation, resource allocation and national development planning.
“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent,” he said.
The commissioner said that the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and was working to expand the number to about 8,000.
He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with stakeholders to improve the capacity of registration personnel and ensure prompt documentation of vital events through the VitalReg platform.
Yori said the platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, and reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel.
He disclosed that the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnks-forte Technologies Ltd. as the commission’s technical partner to ensure system availability, cybersecurity and continuous technological improvement.
He called on parents, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media to support the initiative by encouraging the prompt registration of births and deaths.
Earlier, Samuel Omonakpeme, director in Kogi, NPC State, described the commencement of the digital registration system as another milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Omonakpeme stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.9, which seeks to provide legal identity for all.
He appreciated the Federal Government, the leadership of the commission, UNICEF and other development partners for supporting the implementation of the initiative.
The state director also urged parents, guardians, health institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and the media to mobilise public support for the timely registration of all births and deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that ICT personnel of the commission, led by Ehimoni Kolawole, conducted a live demonstration of the digital birth registration process using the VitalReg platform.
The demonstration showed that the registration process captures the biodata of both parents, while at least one parent must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to complete the registration of a newborn.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that two foreign currency accounts opened in connection with the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, with no funds deposited and no transactions recorded.
The revelation emerged on Monday during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the council.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that the PFIPC was created and operated without a valid legal framework and outside the established procedures required for government agencies and institutions.
Appearing before the committee, representatives of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced their institutions from the establishment of the council.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation stated that it neither created the council nor possessed the constitutional authority to establish federal agencies.
Representing the office, officials explained that the OHCSF is only responsible for approving administrative structures of government agencies after all necessary requirements have been fulfilled.
According to the office, records showed that the council submitted a request on August 6, 2025, seeking approval for its organisational structure.
However, the application was not approved because the required supporting documents were not attached.
The committee heard that despite the rejection of the request, officials linked to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC later appeared during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise and sought approval for staffing and recruitment arrangements.
The office disclosed that the council informed government officials that its activities were being carried out largely through personnel seconded or deployed from other institutions.
Lawmakers were told that the council requested approval for a total of 314 positions. The figure consisted of 14 existing officers and an additional 300 proposed positions.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service further revealed that concerns later arose regarding documents presented by the council as evidence of its legal backing.
Officials told the committee that upon examination, the documents failed to display essential features expected of an enabling law or valid legal instrument establishing a government body.
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head of the Civil Service of the Federation, also rejected claims that her office deployed civil servants to work for the council.
She maintained that the office did not assign personnel to the body and did not provide office accommodation for its operations.
According to her, matters relating to the creation, supervision and oversight of government agencies fall under the responsibilities of other relevant institutions, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria also provided details regarding accounts linked to the council.Nigerian current events
Hamisu Abdullahi, director at the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee, explained that the bank opened two foreign currency accounts following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He told lawmakers that the request was received on July 30, 2025, and instructed the bank to create a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi stressed that the CBN only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving official authorisation from the Accountant-General’s office.
However, he disclosed that the accounts never became operational because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for activation.
As a result, both accounts remained dormant from the day they were opened.
He informed the committee that neither account had received deposits nor processed withdrawals. The accounts also recorded no foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.Governor election news
According to him, the balances in both accounts remain at zero.
The CBN official further stated that the council did not engage directly with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts after they were created.
Following the submissions, members of the committee demanded more information as part of efforts to determine the full scope of the council’s activities.
Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, chairman of the committee, directed the Central Bank to submit comprehensive records relating to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The committee requested details covering the opening of the accounts, their operational history and any information connected to related banking activities.
Lawmakers also instructed the CBN to work with commercial banks to identify and provide records of any accounts linked to the entities under investigation.
However, the committee is expected to continue its hearings as more government agencies and officials appear before lawmakers to provide explanations on the controversial council and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
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