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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
The Benue State government has pledged total commitment to the domestication and adoption of the National Climate Change Policy, (NCCP), in the state.
The Commissioner for Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Odoh Ugwu, gave this assurance on Tuesday, when he received a delegation from Elim Christian Vocational Training Center, (CVTC), on an advocacy visit in his office.
The Commissioner said the entire world is taking the issue of climate change very seriously and following recent events in the country, Benue state cannot be lagging behind.
He said he was impressed with the activities of Elim Foundation so far in the state and assured that the Ministry will do whatever that is possible to support their projects in the state.
Ugwu said “The issue of climate change cannot be taken lightly going by what is happening. The effects of climate change are devastating and our people need to be informed, they need to know what climate change is all about.”
The Environment commissioner promised that he would meet with relevant will meet with his staff and come up with a workable blueprint that would bring everyone on board to drive the policy.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ali Suleiman Efu, who appreciated Elim CVTC for their effort in the state said their coming was not a misplaced priority assuring that the Ministry will give adequate support for the policy.
Earlier, the Programme Manager, Elim CVTC, Mr Emmanuel Egbodo, lamented that climate change is causing disasters and conflicts in Benue leading to overpopulation in cities, deforestation, and pollution among other effects.
He recalled that the federal government launched the revised NCCP in 2021 to address the challenges of climate change saying as a way of responding to the challenges, Elim CVTC, funded by the European Union, (EU), and Christian Blind Mission, (CBM), is implementing the “Enabling Resilience to Climate Change Related Risks (ER2CC) project in Benue state.
He said the essence was to ensure that persons with disabilities and their representing organizations are capacitated and actively involved in climate change-related policy processes and build the capacity of Civil Society Organizations, (CSO), to mitigate the economic and social impacts of climate change in Benue state.
Mr Egbodo noted that the project has long commenced in four communities in Konshisha and four in Gwer West Local government areas where the foundation has procured about 3000 economic trees for planting to improve the climatic conditions in the target communities among other interventions.
Egbodo supported by the Project Coordinator for ER2CC, Rachel Dzever, said the ER2CC project seeks to support the domestication and adoption of the NCCP in Benue, the implementation of the domesticated policy and integration of climate change mitigation measures in relevant MDAs in the state as well as support for the CSO Coordination platform.
He appreciated the commissioner for receiving them even at short notice and prayed that it will be recorded that during his time, the NCCP was domesticated and adopted during his time to the relief and happiness of all those being affected by climate change.
