Nigeria Steps Up Efforts to Phase Out Lead-Based Paints by 2030

ABUJA, NIGERIA  — Nigeria’s Federal Government is stepping up efforts to end lead exposure and phase out lead-based paints in Nigeria by 2030, officials said at an event in Abuja on Tuesday marking the 2026 International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

Dr Salihu Usman, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, said “lead poisoning was a preventable environmental and public-health problem, with no known safe exposure level”. Children, pregnant women and workers exposed through their jobs face significant risk, he said. Usman was represented at the event by Mrs Omotunde Adeola, Director of the Department of Pollution Control and Environmental Health.

Why lead-based paints in Nigeria are a target

Paint is one of the most common sources of childhood lead exposure worldwide. As painted walls, doors and toys age, they chip and produce dust that young children swallow through normal hand-to-mouth behaviour. Lead damages the developing brain, and the effects on learning and behaviour are largely permanent.

Lead was added to paint for decades to speed drying, improve durability and produce bright colours. Many countries have banned or strictly limited lead in decorative paint, and the World Health Organization and the UN Environment Programme have urged all countries to adopt legally binding limits. Lead-free formulations are already widely used by manufacturers that have made the switch.

Usman called for coordinated action among government agencies, industry, health professionals and civil society, and referred to the National Inter-Agency Working Group on Lead Poisoning Elimination and a proposed five-year strategic plan. Last week the Ministry of Health said about 80 million Nigerian children are exposed to lead and inaugurated a 2026 to 2030 elimination plan.

Officials described steps already taken. A November 2025 workshop trained 35 participants to use portable X-ray fluorescence analysers to screen paints and consumer products for lead. With support from Resolve to Save Lives, the ministry validated a training toolkit for Environmental Health Officers, and an April 2026 pilot on environmentally sound management of small waste batteries ran in the Federal Capital Territory.

Portable X-ray fluorescence analysers allow inspectors to measure lead in paint films and consumer products in seconds without sending samples to a laboratory, which could make market surveillance faster and cheaper if regulators adopt them widely.

Industry recognition and next steps

Awards recognised contributors to the shift away from lead-based paints in Nigeria, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Paint Manufacturers Association, Paints and Coating Manufacturing Nigeria, Chemicals and Allied Products (CAP) Plc, Prestige Paint Nigeria Ltd. and Parco Enterprise Nigeria Ltd. Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal and Adeola were also honoured.

Dr Leslie Adogame, Executive Director of Sustainable Research and Action for Environment Development (SRADeV), cited studies on lead in paint and on lead-acid battery recycling. SRADeV has marked the week annually since 2013.

Lead exposure in Nigeria is not limited to paint. The Ministry of Health said last week that investigations in Lagos, Ogun, Sokoto and Zamfara had found different sources of exposure, including battery recycling in Ogijo, Ogun State, and flagged lead-glazed pottery, toys, cosmetics such as the traditional eyeliner tiro, and some traditional remedies. Artisanal gold processing in Zamfara was linked to a mass child poisoning crisis in 2010.

Adults are affected too. Long-term exposure to lead is associated with high blood pressure, kidney damage and reproductive problems, and workers in battery recycling, smelting and some construction trades face higher risk than the general population.

Phasing out lead requires enforceable limits on lead content, testing of products on the market, and support for smaller manufacturers to reformulate. Lead-free alternatives to the pigments and drying agents that contain lead are widely available. Without inspection, however, non-compliant products can remain on shelves alongside certified ones.

For households, risk is highest in older buildings and where paint is sanded or scraped during renovation, which releases fine dust. Health advice typically includes keeping children away from renovation work, wet-cleaning floors and windowsills, and washing hands before meals.

NAN’s report did not say how many paint products on the Nigerian market currently exceed lead limits, or when binding national limits on lead in paint would be enforced, which would be the clearest signal of progress towards the 2030 target. Removing lead-based paints in Nigeria from shops and homes will also depend on buyers asking for certified lead-free products, on regular testing by standards and environmental regulators, and on support for smaller producers that may struggle with the cost of reformulating.

Why it matters: Lead harms children’s brains permanently, so removing it from paint at source protects learning and health for future generations.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria (Abigael Joshua), 27 October 2026. https://nannews.ng/fg-moves-to-phase-out-lead-based-paints-by-2030/