Author: The Nation

Nigeria has pledged its commitment to an international, legally binding, instrument to reduce the menace of marine plastic pollution from land-based sources and activities.

President Buhari gave the assurance in a statement delivered on his behalf by the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Highlighting Nigeria’s effort at ensuring the health and sustainability of oceans, seas and marine resources, the President said a national policy on plastic pollution and the road map on tackling solid and plastic waste management has been formulated and established.

The President, who lauded the United Nations for leading the process of effective ocean governance, said Nigeria had mainstreamed ocean management into the economy, constituting a Presidential Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President also announced that Nigeria has embarked on the creation of two marine protected areas.

President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to participating constructively in the ongoing negotiations for various multilateral agreements, including on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

‘‘The entire Southern border of Nigeria is the Atlantic Ocean with a coastline of about 853km being the longest in the West African region.

‘‘It is endowed with enormous biodiversity resources such as the freshwater and mangrove forest ecosystems with diverse species of fauna and flora.

‘‘We acknowledge the fact that a healthy ocean and coastal environment is key to sustainable development. We must therefore conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

‘‘The ocean is key to the global economy, with an estimated 40 million people projected to be employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.

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‘‘Our oceans and seas are repositories of tremendous wealth, in terms of natural capital, ecosystem services, living and non-living resources. We are conscious of the fact that our maritime and aquatic resources are critical for the livelihoods of our people.

‘‘Hence, our commitment to the Africa Union 2063 Agenda and the attainment of United Nations SDG 14,’’ he said.

The national statement delivered on the President’s behalf also stressed the need for more scientific partnerships and knowledge sharing to protect humanity’s common ocean heritage.

‘‘The science tells us that in order to stop the downward spiral we are witnessing in the ocean, we must fully and highly protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, and dramatically strengthen the management of human activities in the other 70%.

‘‘This must be reflected in the text we negotiate here as well as in upcoming negotiations planned in December 2022 at the upcoming Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the Conference of Parties (COP).

‘‘Nigeria is a member of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Blue Leaders Campaign.

‘‘The global community needs to agree to the effective protection of 30% of the global ocean by 2030 at the CBD COP in December, and a robust high seas treaty that doesn’t simply endorse the status quo, but the one that ensures all nations manage their activities in the high seas to prevent significant effects on the ocean.

‘‘These two steps will go a long way in restoring the health and resilience of our oceans”, the statement said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will depart Lagos this afternoon for Accra, Ghana, to represent Nigeria at the 61st Ordinary Session of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government holding tomorrow.

Prof. Osinbajo, standing in for President Muhammadu Buhari at the summit, will join other leaders to deliberate and take decisions on the political, security and humanitarian issues among others regarding the sub-region at the regular ECOWAS summit.

The meeting will also review the situations in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, particularly towards restoring democratic rule. West African leaders have since 2020 held several sessions, including emergency meetings, dedicated to finding lasting solutions to the resurgence of coups in some of the countries in the sub-region.

According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office of the ViceAt the summit tomorrow, the Mediation and Security Council of ECOWAS will update leaders on political developments in the region and in the sahel region.

The Council will also provide updates on the issues of insecurity, challenges relating to youth unemployment and the impact of diseases and pandemics on social tensions in the region.

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Only recently on 4th June, 2022 in Accra, Ghana, President Buhari joined other ECOWAS leaders to deliberate on the situation in the sub-region, urging more attention to be paid to the victims of unconstitutional change of government

On the sidelines of the summit, Osinbajo will also attend a meeting of the five West African countries involved with “the Abidjan – Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project,” a flagship project of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). It connects the capitals of five West African states (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria) and stretches for approximately 1,028 km.

A release from ECOWAS Commission had said the objective of the $42million project is “to promote cross-border trade, integrate economies within the ECOWAS area, reduce transport costs, stimulate inter-regional trade and strengthen regional integration in West Africa.”

The Vice President who will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Zubairu Dada and some other members of the Federal Executive Council is expected back in Abuja later on Sunday.

About 99 enumerators are currently undergoing 12 days training ahead of the National Population Commission (NPC) Trial Census in nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Enugu State.

Opening the training in Enugu on Friday, the Federal Commissioner Representing Enugu State in NPC, Chief Ejike Ezeh, said that the nine LGAs had selected three council areas each from the three senatorial zones for the exercise.

Ezeh said Enugu East Senatorial Zone comprises Nkanu West, Enugu North and Isiuzo council areas.

Enugu North Senatorial zone includes Udenu, Uzo-Uwani and Igboeze council areas while Enugu West Senatorial Zone included Ezeagu, Oji River and Udi council areas.

According to him, 7,718 Enumeration Areas have been selected for the trial to test run suitability and readiness for the actual census in 2023.

The commissioner explained that the exercise would be used to test the new technology and innovations in the census enumeration both in terms of e-recruitment of personnel and use of specially configured computer tablets for the exercise.

“The selection of the coverage areas has been scientifically and purposely carried out to achieve the objectives of the Trial Census.

“The selection of samples from all states of the federation and the FCT is expected to yield nationwide information on state-specific issues that may arise for the next census and come up with possible solutions for addressing the challenges.

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“However, some states have been selected for full LGA enumeration to test challenges around complete coverage under various scenarios such as in hard-to-reach areas, special populations, and rural-urban settings,” he said.

Ezeh noted that “the Trial Census is not the actual enumeration of persons for the 2023 Population and Housing Census”, adding that the outcome of the trial would not form the basis of the 2023 Census.

“Data generated during the Trial Census will not be used to arrive at figures for the 2023 Census which is going to be zero-based and from information collected in April 2023,” he added.

The commissioner called on stakeholders and the general public, especially residents, security agencies and the media, to support the Trial Census to ensure its success in Enugu State.

The Chairman of Enugu North LGA, Chief Emeka Onunze, assured the NPC of the council’s resolve to support the Trial Census and ensure its huge success through massive rural publicity.

Onunze, whose council area is selected for the exercise, lauded NPC for selecting it for the national exercise, adding that it would further cement relationship between the commission and council.

“We are ready to ensure that the exercise moves on smoothly without any hitch in the council area,” Onunze who was represented by the Secretary of the council, Mr Abuchi Ugwu, said.

One of the trainees for the Trial Census, Miss Chioma Ani, said she had learnt census methodology, planning and operations, use of digital maps and Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) among others.

(NAN)

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Friday called for stakeholders’ collective collaboration on security in the Maritime Sector.

Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Director-General of NIMASA, made the call at a one-day Sensitisation workshop organised by the Agency, in collaboration with National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) in Port Harcourt.

Jamoh, who was represented by Mr Ceche Osango, the Director, Special Duties in Maritime and Safety, said the workshop was to create a platform for stakeholders in the maritime sector to interact and see how to support each other to provide solutions to security challenges faced in the industry.

According to the director, the collaboration will particularly help stakeholders in the maritime sector to provide safety and security in the industry.
“We believe that collaborating with all the stakeholders, weather military, paramilitary and community, will enhance our resources today and will come up with ideas which we can continuously support each other and be able to deliver the results with our common goal which is to provide security.

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“We appreciate the fact that every body has a role to play hence we are partnering with our sister agencies, NEMA, SEMA who are working with us to see that this kind of situation is taken care of,” he said.

He stated that piracy on the water ways was one of the challenges which Nigeria fell into the Gulf of Guinea, saying that insecurity affected merchant shipping and needed collaboration and solutions to fight against the challenges.
Similarly, Mr Godwin Tepikor, the State Coordinator for NEMA in Rivers, represented by Mr Damian Egwu, one of the staff members in the state, stated that the call for collaboration was apt as insecurity was becoming a perennial challenge in the country.

Tepiko said that maritime sector in the country had faced insecurity as it grew over the years at the Gulf of Guinea, which had contributed to the economic sabotage.
He stated that this contributed to the downturn of GDP on oil production from 2 million to 1.2 million barrels due to insecurity.
He called on stakeholders in the state to join hands to fight insecurity, stating that the menace could not be handled by one singular agency or security outfit.
The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that the stakeholders present were representatives of Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Police, Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Road Safety Corps and the Federal Fire Service.

(NAN)