A former member of the House of Representatives, Sam Onuigbo, has said state and local governments should produce their climate change mitigation frameworks to complement efforts of the federal government.

Mr Onuigbo, who is participating in the Conference of the Parties (CoP) 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, made the call in a statement on Thursday.

He said with the signing into law of the Climate Change Act, the federal government had demonstrated commitment to legal instruments for climate change.

He said with the setting up of the National Council on Climate, the federal government moved a notch higher to provide the bureaucratic structure to implement climate change policies and actions.

Mr Onuigbo said unfortunately, most state governments had not taken the stake to contribute more meaningfully towards efforts to protect the environment and mitigate climate change.

“The law provided for a representative of the chairman of the Governors’ Forum to be on the national council meeting whenever Mr President is presiding. Similarly, the law provides for a representation of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria. That is 774 of them. What this has is that it does not stop there. It also provided for the inclusion of youths, women in their own right, apart from women who are coming from the ministry of women affairs, even people with disabilities and the private sector. So if you look at it generally, you will see that the law has a wide range of provisions; it is ambitious in nature.’’

Mr Onuigbo called for more support from the National Council on Climate Change, which is all-encompassing, adding that climate change efforts do not start and end with any ministry.

He said there was a link between climate change and insecurity.

He stated, “If what you planted over some time is destroyed by flood or desertification, it has the potential to create problems for you. So these things are intertwined; so we have to look at the Act, follow its provisions and work together to achieve our aims.’’
(NAN)