The Federal Ministry of Environment has called on all Nigerians and stakeholders to take personal responsibility for the protection, preservation and conservation of the environment.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal made the call during a retreat organized by the ministry for Directors, Heads of Agencies in Kaduna State.
Lawal stated that Departments, Agencies, Programmes and special projects of the Ministry shall work collaboratively for the actualization of the Ministry’s mandated deliverables derived from the Presidential priorities.
“Facilitate the implementation of the Circular Economy roadmap and to prioritize mentorship, institutional knowledge transfer and effective succession plan,” he said.
He further said procurement plans should be completed early and submitted to the relevant agencies of government to ensure timely release of funds.
“Discontinue the use of single use plastic within the Federal Ministry of Environment and its Agencies to drive a culture of waste reduction.”
In addition, he urged staff of the ministry and its agencies to demonstrate leadership by example by implementing other personal climate actions in their environment and fast track the issuance of the 3rd Sovereign Green Bond in 2024.
“We will implement programmes for capacity development, staff mobilization, performance tracking and strengthening of relationships between supervising officers and their subordinates as key strategies to enhance performance,” he stressed.
The Minister stressed the need for reinforcement of the forest guards in line with the vision of Mr. President to rid our forests of bandits.
“Develop the capacity of the participants in the performance management system and unbundle the presidential performance targets to the relevant departments and agencies.
“Enhancing performance management system to promote accountability in the system. Strategic Communication and conflict management as enablers of productivity and Climate Financing for priority mandates of the Ministry for impact in achieving Green Economy.
The Minister said effective communication and conflict management mechanisms are needed to cascade management decisions to all levels of staff in order to deliver on the Ministerial Mandates.
He noted that there is a need to build capacities, provide frameworks and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to access additional funding for environmental sustainability.
Lawal explained that there is a need to expand our current strategy for circular management of waste to capture small scale producers and the informal sector in the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programme.
The retreat had as its theme: “Policy Embedment and Synergy of Prioritised Action for a Renewed Hope in Environmental Management”
