By TINA TIMOTHY

Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) has called on the federal government to take environmental responsibility seriously.

FENRAD’s call is contained in a statement by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, and Head Corporate Accountability and Human Rights Enforcement, Barr Akande Femisi, to mark the 2022 World Environmental Day on Sunday June 5, 2022.

The statement reads: “Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development, a pro-environment and democracy group joins the rest of the world to mark and celebrate the World Environmental Day of the year 2022 on Sunday, June 5, 2022.

“This day which was set aside by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1973 aims at heightening environmental action and awareness. It is a day that means a lot to us as a foundation, one during which we emphasize on the need for state parties to all environmental protocols, pacts and treaties to work towards commitment. At regional, sub-regional and national levels, we seek to commit state actors and non-state actors to making environmental responsibility the plank of their mandate.

“This year’s programme came with the campaign theme: ‘Only One Earth’. It is a serious challenge to Nigeria and Africa at large as part of the one earth we all have. At national level, FENRAD understands that Nigeria is a signatory to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Rio de Janeiro 1992, the 2013 Minamata Convention on Mercury in Kumamoto, Japan and even the UN Climate Change Conference, Paris 2015, as a member of the Conference of the Parties (COP). Yet at the domestic fronts, Nigeria has hardly adhered to all known statutes nor implement same. This calls for a concern, one that works towards ensuring that sub-national governments adopt these agreements.

“FENRAD understands that even though Nigeria is not among the 10 biggest industrialised economies, local activities like bush burning, logging, cooking with firewood and even emission from used cars, ‘Tokunbo’, contribute to making the nation one of the top 10 at-risk nations in the area of climatic risk.

“Also in Abia State, FENRAD urges state government to go one better by inaugurating a regime that recovers Aba and Umuahia from reeking refuse dumping practice. In former and earlier releases, FENRAD had called on the state government after its on-the-spot assessment of Aba and its environs, to up its game when it comes to environmental issues. It is sad that nothing significant has changed afterwards. Also does the Foundation call on local governments, communities and residents to do the needful in increasing sanitation and healthy living in these days of pandemic, small pox and bird flu and the like. Environment, the foundation is key and we must key in by making this ‘only one earth’ of ours livable.

“FENRAD urges Nigerian federal and other sub-national governments to take environmental responsibility seriously.”