The FCT Administration has expressed commitment to meeting its obligations in preserving the environment and ensuring that mother nature serves all that depend on it for lives and livelihood responsibly.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, gave the assurance at the commemoration of the World Earth Day organised by the FCTA on Friday in Abuja.
Aliyu, represented by the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, however, called on the education sector to ensure that environmental subjects were taught in schools from foundation classes.
She also called on community based organisations to be fully involved in spreading the message and taking positive actions to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
Aliyu described the commitment of majority of nations across the world to keep faith with efforts of protecting the environment, including resolutions reached at the World Climate Change Conference as heart-warming and encouraging.
The minister regretted that due to human activities such as overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment was being degraded resulting to adverse and extreme weather phenomena like flooding and heat-waves.
“The consequences of these have adversely affected the lives and livelihood of millions around the world and resulted to drought, famine and forced migration, which has led to clashes amongst communities.
“And, even an increase in diseases caused by the consumption of foods from contaminated farmlands, rivers, oceans and even meat and livestock,” she affirmed.
Aliyu called for collective and sustained efforts of all, stressing that mass mobilisation and awareness campaigns should be stepped up to galvanize the public into taking positive actions against the dangers facing mankind.
Earlier, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, who was represented by the Director Operation, Planning and Strategy, Mr Atang Samuel, noted that the occasion had provided the global community a sense of shared responsibility.
He said that it had also provided a common goal to protect the earth and the source of livelihood.
Commenting on this year’s theme; “Invest in our Planet”, the Adesola said that the administration was doing its best by ensuring the implementation of policies and programmes that would aid the protection of the environment.
The permanent secretary, therefore, called for a cleaner environment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highpoint of the event include a road walk to arouse public consciousness on the environment, and the need to preserve and protect it.
It also included a panel discussion on environmental sanitation and sundry issues.
(NAN)