From Okwe Obi, Abuja
As the world grapple with the effects and impacts of climate change, the response of the government and people of Nigeria has come under renewed focus as policy makers, bureaucrats, civil society leaders, and top business executives lead a discourse on the country’s climate action.
The event is being organised by OrderPaper, Nigeria’s foremost parliamentary monitoring organisation and policy think tank, to commemorate this year’s ‘International Day of Parliamentarism.’
A statement by Ms. Regina Udo, senior programme executive at OrderPaper said the discourse would hold at 8PM on Twitter @OrderPaper today and participation is open to the general public.
Focused on evaluating the implementation of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act enacted in 2021 as part of concerted efforts aimed at mitigating effects of the global scourge, the discourse is in line with the global theme for the 134th Anniversary of the World Parliament Day Celebration; ‘Parliaments for the Planet.’
To headline the discourse is Samuel Onuigbo, sponsor of the Climate Change legislation in the 9th House of Representatives, and Vice President of the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE). He will be joined by Dr. Salisu Dahiru, Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC); Dr. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale; Divisional Head, Business Support Services Division\General Counsel at the Nigerian Exchange Group; and Obialunanma Nnaobi-Ayodele; Co-Chair (Non-State Actors), National Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria.
Oke Epia, founder/executive director of OrderPaper Nigeria and member of the National Steering Committee of the OGP will be the chief host and moderator of the conversation. He would be assisted in moderating the discourse by Ms Comfort Onyaga, policy enthusiast and social entrepreneur.
Holding in partnership with Citizen by Zikoko; a web magazine focused on helping young Nigerians understand politics, policy and governance, the discourse is geared towards raising public awareness on climate change as a vital global and national issue.
The statement said the conversation would spotlight the 10th National Assembly and encourage the federal legislators to step up actions, including appropriation and oversight, to fully set the ball rolling in the implementation of the Climate Change Act and also explore sustainable channels for citizen engagement and public participation in the implementation of the Climate Change Act as it is the case in other countries where climate assemblies and independent monitoring bodies are put in place to enable all-encompassing climate action.
According to the statement by OrderPaper, the conversation is an expression of the organisation’s vision and mission. “Given our strategic role as a bridge between parliament and the people of Nigeria, OrderPaper is poised to host this conversation as part of our periodic Online Parliament Series tagged OPEN (OrderPaper Parliamentary Engagement Nigeria) Space.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) had chosen a campaign theme of ‘Parliaments for the Planet’ for this year’s ‘International Day of Parliamentarism’ to mobilise parliaments and parliamentarians to act on the climate emergency.
Since climate action begins at home, we considered this a unique opportunity to review the Implementation of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act enacted in 2021. And so, how far and how well has this all-important law been implemented? Are the public and private sectors adequately sensitised and mobilised on what should be done? These and other questions will form major points of discussion at the discourse,” Ms. Udo said.
The International Day of Parliamentarism is celebrated every year on 30th June, the date in 1889 in which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was founded. The annual celebration established in 2018 through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution, is observed across the world as championed by the United Nations.
The annual celebration is thus, a time to review the progress that parliaments have made in achieving key goals to be more representative and move with the times, including carrying out self-assessments, working to include more women and young MPs, and adapting to new technologies.