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Oladipo emerges Bot chair of Climate Change Network Nigeria

11 September 2009, THISDAY
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909100540.html

Lagos:  Prof. Emmanuel Olukayode Oladipo, an internationally acclaimed Professor of Climatology, has emerged as the Chair, Board of Trustees as well as National Stakeholders Advisory Group (NSAG) of the largest civil society coalition on climate change in the country.

Climate Change Network Nigeria (CCNN), with a membership base of now over 150 diverse civil society organisations across the nation, is proud to have Prof. Oladipo, a renowned eminent stakeholder in the global pursuit of changing climate for the better as its National Chair and Face of the Network.

In his acceptance speech, Oladipo, who is currently the Regional Coordinator of the Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM), Nigeria-Niger Project under Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission for Cooperation, said, "it is my pleasure to be identified with CCN Nigeria and its development vision for Nigeria".

CCN Nigeria has the goal of promoting climate-friendly Nigeria through multi-sectoral approach and public-private partnership and building capacity of Nigerian CSOs to achieve it, according to an information signed by Member, National Working Group for Communications, CCN Nigeria, Comrade Thaddeus Ugo.

The coalition specifically works and partners with the Special Climate Change Unit of the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria, West African Climate Change Coalition (WACCC), Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and the UNEP's Climate Neutral Network (CN Net).

Meanwhile, the National Coordinator, Mr. Surveyor Efik, said it is a very big privilege to the CCN Nigeria family and thanked all its members for their commitment and contributions towards the emergence of Prof. Oladipo as the Chair of the Network, an achievement, which he described as a huge success.

He further commended the Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, and the Special Climate Change Unit (SCCU) of the Ministry, headed by Dr. Victor Fodeke, for appointing CCN Nigeria and the Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST) into the newly constituted National Climate Change Roundtable Committee.

In reacting to this, Dr. Muslim Idris, a member of NSAG of the CCN Nigeria and National President of the Nigerian Greens Movement, said that the Minister of Environment is truly a Climate-Solution Ambassador for Nigeria.

On the international scene, CCN Nigeria is nominated as the Coordinating Organisation for the UN-Seal-the-Deal Campaign in Nigeria, courtesy its continental partner, PACJA. Preparation for the implementation of the campaign in Nigeria is on-going and tentatively slated for this month.

In the build up to climate change global conference in Denmark, otherwise known as COP 15 or Copenhagen 2009, CCN Nigeria is organising 'National Conversation on Climate Change' with the theme, 'Scaling up Plan of Actions for Nigeria's Roadmap to Copenhagen 2009'.

It is expected to bring about the convergence of a large number of diverse stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors as well as the international community to further contribute to the strategic plan of actions for the nation's road-map to Copenhagen that has so far been evolved by the FME/SCCU.

It is also aimed at generating NAMAs and NAPAs for Nigeria and collates participants' signatures for the UN-seal-the-deal campaign that would be submitted the UN Secretary General at the Copenhagen 2009. Collaboration for implementation is welcome from prospective partners (public, private and civil society sectors including the international community).

Some of the members of NSAG include Prof. Francis Sikoki of Fisheries and Hydrobiology Unit of the University of Port Harcourt; Dr. P. S. Akinyeye, Head, Department of Geography, University of Technology Minna; Mrs. Tosin Adefope of EnvironsAfrica; Mr. Abimbola Akosile of THISDAY Newspapers.

Others include Ms Faith Nwadishi, the National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP Nigeria) and Dr. Tola Winjobi, the National Coordinator of the Global Call Against Poverty (GCAP) as well as Mr. Mohammed Attah, the Nigerian/African Coordinator of World Association of Non Governmental Organisations (WANGO) etc.