Post on 14-Dec-2014
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A KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE HIS EXCELLENCY, DR KAYODE FAYEMI, AT THE MAIDEN EKITI STATE ADVOCACY/CAMPAIGN WORKSHOP ON CLIMATE CHANGE HELD AT
LADY JIBOWU HALL, GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ADO EKITI ON 25TH AUGUST, 2011
PROTOCOLS
It is with great delight that I welcome you all to this gathering
as we celebrate the maiden Ekiti State advocacy/campaign
workshop on Climate Change.
The theme of this year’s workshop “THE REALITY OF
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE MOTHER
EARTH” is not only topical but also timely. As we all know,
Climate Change poses one of the greatest challenges to the very
existence of life and living on the planet earth. Climate Change is
projected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme
weather events such as degradation and ozone layer depletion.
Therefore, ensuring environmental sustainability is a task that
should be achieved before 2015 as entrenched in the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) packaged as Goal 7. In this
circumstance Ekiti State must not be left behind in the quest for
environmental sustainability. Since no effective and meaningful
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development can thrive and survive without a
healthy environment, the need to urgently identify out
inadequacies and act promptly by finding sustainable approaches
to combat climate change cannot be over emphasized.
Distinguished guests and friends of the Environment, it is
now obvious that the reality of the threat of unsustainable
development in Climate Change has become a major source of
concern to the global community. The 1992 United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, Brazil, the
2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, South Africa and the 2009-2011 World Summits
on Climate Change in Lagos, Nigeria, reflected growing global
concern over environmental issues that have driven the need for
more comprehensive and reliable environment information.
Resolutions from these summits emphasized the need for
sustainability of friendly environment and the development of
appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies against the
menace of Climate Change. Therefore, I am confident that
today’s workshop will provide us with virile platform to address the
challenges to our environment.
Distinguished participants, let me emphasise that this
workshop is a practical demonstration of the determination of my
administration to raise the level of public awareness about
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environmental issues and the need to protect it for
sustainable living. In this regard, public awareness and
enlightenment on this global phenomenon (Climate Change)
would be given the desired attention, I enjoin all participants to, as
a matter of necessity, take all the issues raised here today
seriously and ensure that their various Ministries, Local
Government Areas and Organisations make an effective use of
them. I want to further emphasise that you should evolve your
own local versions of the workshop without deviation from the
sustance where traditional rulers, artisans, market women and all
other stakeholders would be educated on best environmental
practices.
Let me assure all of you here that this administration will
treat the recommendations and policy options from this workshop
with seriousness in our dogged determination to continue to make
issues of Environment a top priority.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is pertinent for me to
stress that this administration is fully ready to invest more in relief
measures, safety, information and advocacy to improve our
responsiveness to possible natural mishaps in the State.
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Once again, I wish you all a fruitful
deliberation at this workshop and I thank you very much for your
attention as we protect our State, “The Land of Honour”.
Ekiti a gbe a oo.