Environment
Census: Lack Of Stakeholders’ Participation Threatens Exercise In Abia – NPC
The National Population Commission (NPC) in Abia has warned that the lack of active participation of critical stakeholders poses serious threat to a successful National Population and Housing Census in the state.
The Head of the Technical Unit of the commission, Mr Kalu-Agbai Uduma, issued the warning at a workshop organised by the commission for a cross-section of journalists in the state on Thursday in Umuahia.
Uduma said: “There is serious fear that the census in Abia is about to fail because of the lack of participation by the critical stakeholders.
“These stakeholders include the community leaders, traditional rulers and State Government.”
He regretted that the stakeholders, who ought to be co-drivers of the exercise in the state, were not living up to expectation.
He said that the commission had endured the situation for the past two years and could no longer pretend that all was well.
“We have cried and are still crying. The census is about to fail because there is crisis everywhere.
“Whenever we encounter any challenge, we do not get the needed support and protection from the stakeholders.
“In the past, traditional rulers provided substantial support to the commission in mobilising their people, providing accommodation and some logistical support to our people.
“Regrettably, today, those supports and active involvement by these critical stakeholders are no longer forthcoming,” Uduma said.
He further feared that the outcome of this year’s exercise in the South-East would be worse than that of 2006.
According to him, the 2006 exercise suffered a huge setback in the zone due to the negative activities of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra.
He spoke further on why tribe and religion were no longer considered a factor in the conduct of the nation’s census.
Uduma said: “If census is to provide the necessary data for planning and development purposes, which it is, then tribe and religion are immaterial.
“For instance, I am from Ohafia but live at the World Bank Housing Estate, Umuahia.
“If I run to Ohafia during the census and return to Umuahia thereafter, would I get water from Ohafia and would my children go to school in Ohafia?”
He therefore appealed to the media to effectively collaborate with the commission to educate and sensitise the Abia residents to present themselves for the exercise.
He also urged South-East residents to embrace the registration of birth as a way of life like in other zones for easy assessment of the population growth rate of the area.
Uduma said that no state in the country was empowered by the Act establishing the commission to conduct census but said that states, local governments or organisations were free to conduct security mapping.
“This is very good in tracking crime and criminals in any geographical location because it captures every street, pathways as well as structures and their features within a specific area,” he said.
Eaelier in an address of welcome, the State Director of the commission, Mrs Juliana Ezebuiro, said that the commission organised the training in order to help the journalists to understand the role the commission expected them to play during the exercise.
Ezebuiro described journalists as essential partners to the commission, saying that the census could only succeed with the active participation of the media.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that different papers presented at the event included “Enumeration Area Demarcation” by Uduma.
Others were “How to generate media content” by Allison Obiajunwa, “History of Population Census in Nigeria, structure and mandate of the commission” by Josephine Ucheji as well as the “Technological innovation in the 2023 census” by Ikenna Nwachukwu, amongst other topics.
Speaking in an interview with NAN, some of the participants described the training as highly educative and beneficial. (NAN)
Some stakeholders in Okoroagu community in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state have blamed the perennial erosion in the community on the poor conditions of their road.
They are therefore calling for the rehabilitation of their road.
They said this in an interview with The Tide, at okoroagu.Speaking to The Tide,the Ochimba of Okoroagu community, Eze Marcus Amadi said the poor conditions of their road has retarded the growth and development of the community.
According to Eze Amadi,”The government has neglected us, they have forgotten about us, we have been writing letters to the government, both to the NDDC to come and repair our road for us, we are on our knees pleading to them to come help us out, at least they should just dredge the road for us”
Continuing he said”If the government comes today to repair our road, nobody will say they shouldn’t.
“Nobody will obstruct them. We have been shouting and crying that our road is not good, the road is affecting the community economically and socially in the sense that, there is no way we can carry our crops out because of erosion.
“Erosion have taken over the road, making it difficult for us to access other communities especially during rainfall you see people falling down and getting injured inside the river which we call Mmiri Ehe in our language, which reaches our waist line during raining season. Our people can not go to other market to sell their products due to the bad road”he saidAlso speaking,Chairman Community Development Committee( CDC )Okoroagu , Hon. Elvis Nwaobasi decried the situation of the road, stressing that economic activities are being affected as movement of goods and services have gradually slowed down in the area.
” The road have affected our women so badly, they are no longer going to the other neighboring markets to sell their Agric produce because of the nature of the road.
“This road has also affected us in many ways, it has affected our educational system, security system, it has also affected our health system, because with the nature of that road, people cannot access our health facilities in the community, with the nature of that road, people cannot access our school, with nature of the road, people cannot come in and do business in our community, we cannot access the road because of the neglect of the road.
“People are using our road for excuses to come in and invest and do businesses. People who come to our market to buy our products are no longer coming because of the nature of the road.” I am pleading with the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayig Fubara to please come to the aid of Okoroagu and repair our road. I am pleading with the Rivers State House of Assembly, we are suffering too much because of this road. We have been neglected and abandoned for years, the government should please come to our aid” he said.Also the women leader of Okoroagu community, Mrs. Anthonia Nweke blamed some politicians from the area for abandoning the people of Okoroagu
“Our road has been abandoned, overlooked, with no attention, mostly the higher politicians of the place, we have been abandoned for years”
In furtherance to the commitment of the Federal Government through the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation (HYPREP) to the full implementation of the recommendations of the UN Environment Programme Report on Ogoni Environment, the Project has commenced processes to designating Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site.
Labaran Ahmed, National Focal Point for Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment, who is leading the process for collection of field samples, said the move will converse biodiversity, enhance livelihood, attract ecotourism and further earn global recognition for Ogoni Wetlands.The UNEP Report envisages that this would provide the Government with a roadmap for restoration and sustainable management of the Ogoni wetland, bring the site unto international among others.Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, represented by Director Technical Services, Professor Damien-Paul Aguiyi said the project further attests to the Federal government’s commitment through HYPREP to implementing the UNEP Report simultaneously.Nigeria is a signatory to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction(BBNJ) Agreement for how research on marine genetic resources must be conducted and documented, ensuring transparency and the equitable distribution of benefits.
Environment
Tribunal Acknowledges losses in Rare species Across the globe …urges for government Action
It was noted that the choice by the Brazilian government to host COP30 serves as a symbol of the importance of the Amazon. They denounced the current and future impacts of the expansion of the extractivist frontier, deforestation, fossil fuels and large-scale mining. It was urged that the Amazon, with its ecosystems, animal, plant species, and rich biodiversity, natural medicines and its vital and reproductive cycles, should be considered as a subject of rights together with the Indigenous Peoples, and other communities that inhabit it.
The co-president and judge of the tribunal, Nnimmo Bassey, while delivering the verdict, noted that the defence of the rights of Nature is the right way to carry out real climate action and that there is no climate justice without the rights of Nature.
The tribunal stressed the need to phase out fossil fuels and quickly move to renewable energy as a way that protects both communities and ecosystems from false solutions that merely benefit financial speculators and compound climate injustices. The Tribunal also urged the United Nations to adopt the pledge as a blueprint for international environmental law.
A copy of the declaration obtained by The Tide revealed that,Judges at the Tribunal included Ana Alfinito of Brazil, Nnimmo Bassey ( Nigeria), Enrique Viale (Argentina), Shannon Biggs (USA), Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation, USA), Tom Goldtooth (USA), Princes Esmeralda (Belgium), Cormac Cullinan (South Africa), Patricia Gualings (Ecuador), Francesco Martone (Italy) Tzeporah Berman (USA), Ashish Katharine (India), Osprey Orielle Lake (USA), Pooven Moodley (South Africa) and Felicio Pontes (Brazil)
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