Ogoni clean up: President Tinubu has prioritised environment – Minister

The Minister for State Environment, Iziaq Adekunle said President Bola Tinubu has put the ministry of environment as his priority area. The minister made the remark at the inspection of remediation sites and the building of Centre of Excellence in OgonilandOgoniland.

He maintained that through the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda the Ministry of Environment is placed as a strategic ministry to the present administration, noting that the building of the Centre of Excellence is one of the second biggest projects embarked upon by the Federal Government. He explained that upon completion of the edifice which is impactful and significant the people will celebrate.

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The Minister who also visited the environment club of Birabi Memorial Grammar School ( BMGS), Bori in Ogoni stated that his visit to Rivers State also afforded him the opportunity to plant 10 trees in the South South region of Nigeria out of 50 trees as part of his personal commitment to contribute to mother earth.
“If you don’t use our environment in a sustainable way it will not be good, ” he said.

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Adekunle tasked the students and principal to take care of the economic trees which will also serve as combatting the climate change menace.
“If everyone in Nigeria plants a tree in a year and do our responsibility, we are promoting nature,” he said.

Answering questions on the mangrove planting by HYPREP, the Minister said the country needed nature-base solution to the environment through mangrove forests planting to help in climate change solution.

“The mangrove is very important and we must support HYPREP to achieve its aim and objectives of the clean up according the UNEP standard and restoring mangrove in the Niger Delta,” he said.

In his response, the Principal of the school Bob Agbozii Goteth thanked the Minister of State for Environment for planting the trees, saying that the importance of trees was key to help in fighting the climate change while appealing to the minister to assist the school with portable drinking water.

Earlier, the Senior Prefect of the school which was spokesperson of the environmental club, the Green Frontiers Club, Koalebari Nathaniel said they engaged in environment to assist in whatever way they can to contribute their support to protect the mother earth.

At one of the clean up sites in Eleme, in Eleme local government area, the minister stressed the need that Nigeria is tackling pollution in the country as an important responsibility and the government needed the support of the communities in the process, while he expressed satisfaction for the work so far.

The Project Coordinator of HYPREP Prof. Neniibarini Zabbey and Mike Wiialaghi, chairman Board of Trustees, accompanied the minister.