The Minister of State for
Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril on Wednesday resigned from President
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Jibrin’s resignation letter was
submitted at the Federal Executive Council meeting of Wednesday headed by
President Muhammadu Buhari.
His resignation followed his
emergence as the 13th Emir of Nassarawa.
Speaking as he bid farewell to
the cabinet, Jibrin lamented the devastation caused by Boko Haram attack in
North East, the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and erosion
challenges in Southeast.
He said his tour of the North
East made him see the devastation of war in the region.
“I travelled from Maiduguri to
Baga and I’ve seen from Maiduguri every part of the landscape, from left to
right, up to Monguno to Baga, there was no village that was not destroyed.
“While we look at the
consequences of war, we also have to look at the environmental impact, the
long-term effect it would be on the life of people in those locations.
“Again, I was privileged to
travel to Bama and I’ve seen an entire community destroyed just within the
space of two days because of the madness of Boko Haram.
“Also in the North East, I was
privileged to travel across four local governments in one day and I’ve seen the
devastation of climate change; the issue of the sand dunes, moving southwards,
covering villages, houses and places of livelihood.
“This has remained a permanent
feature in my life because I’ve seen how helpless people could be and that has
put a lot of stress on me to try to make a little difference,” he said
The visit to the creeks in the
Niger Delta, he said, made him see the devastation there, particularly the oil
spill in Forcadoes, Delta State in February 2016, where he visited with the
former Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed.
“I always say it to people that
I’m used to seeing fish fried in vegetable oil but in the Niger Delta I’ve seen
fish and crab that are fried in crude oil.
“This has made a lasting impact
on my life and made me more determined to do the best I could.
“Of course, the instrument in our
hand was the promise made by the president that the oil pollution in the Niger
Delta would be cleaned,” he said
He said the Ogoni Clean-up, which
was approved by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2011 was
taken up with the support of Buhari.
“Today, we have moved this
project to the point of giving letters of contract for the contractors who will
do the remediation work.
“Tomorrow, the 13th of December,
there will be a project meeting in Port Harcourt, where the contractors would
be handed over their sites.”
He said 15 locations would be
done in the first place, while five more that would be brought to the Federal
Executive Council for approval.
He said tenders are being issued
at present for 14 more lots, pointing out that it was progress from what the
administration inherited.
The oil companies in the Niger
Delta, he said, have released $180million dollars for the execution of the
project.
“There are lots of speculations,
but $170million is in the escrow account and the initial $10million that was
given to us, $5milion is still in the account.”
Jibrin also addressed the erosion
problems in the South East, making reference to the incidents in Nanka and
Agulu.
“This is a very serious
devastating problem in the South East to the extent even satellite images could
capture the image of Agulu and Nanka from space.
“Anambra State is just about 4000
square kilometers but it has over 900 active erosion sites.
“Sadly most state governments do
not care about these environmental challenges, despite receiving ecological
funds from the federation account every month.”
Jibrin further praised President
Buhari for his commitment to issues of the environment since he assumed office
and has attended
He said the President has since
attended three of the four conferences on climate change and signed more than
four instruments of ratification, while two are waiting.
This, he said, has increased
Nigeria’s profile in the global stage as far as the fight against climate
change is concerned.
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