By Musa Adamu
Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will reduce the impact of its oil exploration and exploitation on the environment as a means of preserving and conserving wildlife resources to demonstrate its support for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on best environmental management practices.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, made this commitment during the 2016 World Environment Day (WED) with the theme: “Illegal Trade in Wildlife” and NNPC adopted the slogan “Let’s Go Wild for Life” at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, Mr. Isa Inuwa, Dr. Kachikwu noted that as part of the corporation’s determination to conserve wildlife, it had set up the Lekki Conservation Center (LCC) with the support of Chevron Nigeria Limited and Finima Nature Park in Bonny with the support of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (NLNG).
He stated that over time, the federal government had recognized the importance of wildlife resources and demonstrated its commitment to its preservation by establishing national parks and game reserves for the protection and preservation of wildlife and their natural habitats.
According to him, stopping illegal trade in wildlife will ensure the preservation and maintenance of population of useful species, conservation of wildlife for education and research, protection of the fauna and flora resources from over exploitation for medicine and other economic products and expansion of the sphere for tourism and national development towards job creation through documentary research and supply of cellulose.
He said: “The population of Nigeria wildlife is still evolving and growing and hopefully will be adequately managed to provide same benefit like those of other nations of Africa. The diversity of Nigeria wildlife has been ranked eleventh in Africa by Nigerian Environmental Action Study Team (NEST) with South and East African countries leading the pack in the African continent.”
He urged every staff of the corporation to support wildlife preservation and conservation in Nigeria for sustainable environment adding that the safety of these endangered species form the success of the NNPC.
On his part, the COO CS of the NNPC, Mr. Inuwa said that though the practice of illegal wildlife trade was not common in Nigeria, the business of oil exploration and exploitation affects the environment where such creatures occupy.
He stressed that there was the need for concerted efforts to safeguard the environment and wildlife from devastation.