Ogun Assembly Synergises With Executive On Environmental Protection
Concerned by the need to protect the environment from further depletion, the Ogun State House of Assembly says it is ready to partner with the Executive arm of Government to achieve sustainable development and mitigate the current adverse effects of climate change in the State.
The Speaker of the State House of assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraju Adekunbi, who gave the assurance while speaking on “Climate Change Mitigation in Ogun State”, at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta said that the aggressive drive for investment posed great challenges which was being addressed by the present administration.
He added that as part of government’s effort at checkmating the emerging risk associated with global warming, the Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s administration had put in place more afforestation policies with emphasis on aggressive tree planting in the various State forest reserve.
He admonished residents of the State to plant more ornamental trees in their various homes and offices, while promising that government would embark on more sensitization programmes on the benefits of environmental preservation.
The Speaker promised that the State mass transit policies, particularly the proposed light rail project would reduce the volume of vehicles plying roads in the State, thereby lessen carbon emission; explaining that the State through its ministry of Environment would set up a template to discourage gas flaring in the and regulate emissions from industries, cars and tricks by subjecting them to emission test.
He stated that the infrastructural projects embarked on by the present administration had increased the number of bridges, culverts and drainages to effectively tackle flooding, adding that government would continue to enforce the environmental sanitation exercise and ensure proper clearing of drains to allow free flow of flood.
Earlier in his presentation titled: “Trend in Land Use Pattern in Alabata and Igbo-Ora in the last 30 years”, by the Dean, College of Environmental Resources Management, Prof. Clement Adeofun requested for a sustained measure in charcoal production process with regards to environmental protection, while calling for stringent measures to guide against indiscriminate felling of trees.
Adeofun also advised government to put in place measures to check illegal occupant and exploitation of existing forests and other environmental resources.