The NNPC Foundation Ltd. is partnering with the Ministry of Environment to promote climate resilient environment for citizens.
Mrs Emmanuella Arukwe, the Managing Director of the foundation said this at an event to mark the 2024 World Environment Day (WED) on Wednesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the 2024 WED is’ Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience’.
The WED is celebrated globally every June 5.
Arukwe, represented by the foundation’s Executive Director, Programme Development, Dr Bala David, said the aim of the foundation was to support environmental sustainability.
According to her, one of the ways of doing this is by planting of trees which is the reason for the gathering at the Government Secondary School (GSS) Kuje.
She said: ‘today being the World Environment Day, we are running this type of programme together with three planting in Bauchi, Enugu, Benin, Lagos and three schools in FCT.
The theme of this year’s event calls for the need to
restore our environment and the importance of tree planting was to regulate climate, biodiversity support and soil protection among others.
Representing the Ministry of Environment and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Mr Sampraise Itomo, urged Nigerians and the World at large to treat the environment as its neighbour.
‘Environment is everything around us inclusive of living and non-living things. As humans, we need to know and interact with our environment.
‘And the environment around us is our neighbour and they contribute to our longevity, happiness, and joy so we should have regard for it and try to preserve it,” he said.
Tree planting at GSS Kuje by NNPC Foundation Ltd.
Tree planting at GSS Kuje by NNPC Foundation Ltd.
While reiterating the advantages of tree planting in our environment, Itomo said it was our responsibility to restore the environment for our safety and that of our future generation.
Also speaking, Mr Sani Adamu, the Manager Education of the foundation, restated that the e
nvironment was ours and there was the need for us to take care of it.
‘There are various ways of taking care of our environment and one of such ways is tree planting and that is the essence of why we are here today.
‘As the vice principal has rightly said, when you cut down a tree you should plant two more as a replacement
‘We must take our environment very seriously so that the eco climate can be achieved and by so doing, we will live longer,” he said.
Similarly, the Vice-Principal Administration, Government Secondary School, Kuje, Muhammad Muhammed expressed the commitment of the school to safe guard the trees planted.
‘We have gone ahead to make a protector around the plant to ensure it is protected from being eaten by animals or being destroyed
‘We will make sure that morning and evening, we water them so that we can see them grow well and serve its purpose.
‘Also, where ever we see encroachment or desertification, we should try as much as possible to grow trees in such areas, deforestation should
be afforestation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the students of the school commended the foundation for including them in the WED celebration and thanked them for the knowledge impacted on them.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria