Rivers legislators hold world environmental summit in December

Amaka Agbu,

Port Harcourt
All is now set for the world Port Harcourt Environmental Summit (PHES), brainchild of the Rivers State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, to review and unlock environmental issues in the state with a view to presenting a bill to the state Assembly  for possible enactment into law.

The summit, themed “Our Environment, Our Heritage: Environmental Sustainability in Rivers State, A Right For All”, would be powered by the Rivers State Ministry of Environment and the Rivers State Waste Management Board.

According to the House Committee Chairman on Environment, Hon. Christian Ahiakwo, who disclosed this to the members of the State Correspondents’, other objectives of the summit would be to work towards the development of a climate change policy for Rivers state.

Hon. Ahiakwo said that the summit would also create a veritable platform to increase national and international investment in green and environmental projects and programmes in Rivers state.

According to him those expected at the summit include environmentalists from Nigeria and the world over, stakeholders in the local oil and gas companies, ministries, members of the diplomatic corps, as well as professional organizations on environment.

Some of the speakers to feature at the summit include Mr. Nimmo Bassey, member of the Board of Trustees of Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), who will take the tpoic “The Implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoni land: Implications for other oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta”.

Others include Professor Henry Alapiki, the current Executive Director of the University of Port Harcourt Foundation, billed to speak on “The Nigerian State Multi-national Corporations and the politics of Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria: What Hope for our Future”, while Florence Akaakar, former President of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers and Vice Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers would tackle the topic “Adapting a Working Curriculum on Environmental Safety and Sustainable Development in Rivers State Schools”.

The summit is expected to take place between December 6 and 7, this year, and aimed at encouraging international environmentalists to invest in Rivers State.