The Rivers state governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said the process of protecting our environment is not the responsibility of the government alone and that the imput of the public is necessary.
Governor Amaechi dropped the hint during the grand finale of the 2012 world environment day celebration with the theme “Green Economy: Does It Include You,” at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice in Port Harcourt.
Governor Amaechi who was represented by his deputy, Engineer Tele Ikuru, said, “we need to work together to protect our environment. Whether we want to go to the moon or build skyscrapers our immediate environment is very important. Everyone needs to join the effort at managing our wastes in such a way that it does not affect our environment negatively”.
Governor Amaechi who is also the chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, (NGF) urged residents of Port Harcourt, the state capital, to focus more on how to bring back its lost glory as the Garden city of Nigeria, assuring that his administration would expedite action on enacting and enforcing all enabling environment laws that would make the state the most clean state in the country.
Earlier in his speech, Prof. Nimi Briggs, the Rivers State chairman of Economic Advisory Council who chaired the occasion, noted that the world environment day celebration was a day set aside to draw attention to issues concerning the preservation of our environment and urged the public to contribute positively to the various efforts aimed at making our environment clean, safe and habitable.
In his speech the Rivers State commissioner for environment, Dr. Nyema Weli who was represented by the permanent secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr. George Nweke, noted that it was necessary to clean our environment as it was stated that, cleanliness is next to Godliness and enjoined everyone to be involved by ensuring that our environment is clean.
Delivering a paper titled, “Green Economy and the future we want in the Niger Delta,” the guest lecturer, Prof. Dagogo Fubara, said that an analysis of the 2012 United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) on Ogoni land entitled “Environment Assessment of Ogoniland,” showed that the Niger Deltas vast oil and gas deposits were being unsustainably exploited without economic diversification for over five decades now.
He explained Green economy is the clean energy economy consisting primarily of four sectors renewable energy, green building, and energy, efficient technology, energy efficient infrastructure and transportation and recycling of waste to wealth, scrap to wealth and waste to energy, calling for greater investment in cleaner energy, natural resources, enabling policy settings including regulatory environment, among others.
The highlight of the occasion was the drama presentation by the state ministry of environment, lectures, among others. ###
Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
