PRESS RELEASE
FG COMMITTED TO REDUCING LAND DEGRADATION
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment Mrs. Fatimah Nana Mede has assured of Governments’ commitment to eradicate land degradation in the Country.
Mrs Mede stated this today, in Abuja, at the ongoing Leadership Programme organized by the World Bank Nigeria office, for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management project (NEWMAP), a Federal Government new initiative to addressing Erosion and Land degradation in the country.
The Permanent Secretary represented by the Project’s National Coordinator, Mr. Salisu Dahiru, applauded the projects states led innovative approach and commended the implementation progress of civil works recorded at the various Erosion sites in the South East, saying that the project activities so far has endeared the interest of other states especially from the North requesting to join NEWMAP.
Speaking at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting on 2015 flood in Abuja, Mrs. Mede explained that the activities on ground at most of the sites shows that NEWMAP project development objectives are being met and delivered to the people. She acknowledged the extensive progress in Edo (Auchi, Ekehuan and Queen Ede road in Ogbeson quarters), Ebonyi (Nguzu Eda), and Enugu (Ajali & Nite mile) and Cross river state. She also called for more efforts on the appreciable progress of implementation activities in Abia, Anambra and Imo States.
Addressing the participants she noted that the Leadership programme becomes imperative since “NEWMAP is expected to have highly positive environmental impacts in its measures to addressing urban and watershed management planning and the restoration of degraded lands.
She noted that the Leadership programme is designed to contribute to the technical implementation of NEWMAP, by supporting the project teams with tools and approaches to identifying and addressing stakeholders behavioral challenges that can slow or even prevent successful project delivery. She therefore charged the NEWMAP team to imbibe good leadership qualities and avoid any act that would negatively affect the successful implementation of the project.
In his remarks the World Bank Task Team Leader for NEWMAP, Dr. Amos Abu on his part stressed that the Bank’s support for the Project was part of its commitment to confronting poverty in the country. He charged the workforce to use the opportunity of the Leadership programme to identify the most complex challenges for NEWMAP and come up with ideas on how to address the issues.
He noted that part of the objectives of the Leadership programme is to refocus individuals and the State project teams for the next wave of implementation activities while expanding their understanding of the challenges ahead.
Participants at the programme include stakeholders from the public and private sectors, representatives from Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies as well as project staff from the initial seven states of Abia, Anambra, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu and Imo.
