Anambra State Ministries of Environment, Information Sign MoU To Drive Environmental Awareness, Attitudinal Change
By David Okpokwasili
The Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration’s drive to increase environmental awareness among the citizenry as a major step to fighting the environmental degradation in the state has recorded a major milestone after the Ministries of Environment and Information and Value Reformation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on areas of partnership and mutual engagement.
The MOU was signed by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor on behalf of his ministry and the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Clem Aguiyi on behalf of the Ministry of Environment in a ceremony witnessed by each of the delegations of both ministries at Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka.
The MoU tops the interministerial talks between both ministries and will guide their partnership and engagement in creating awareness and promoting value reformation of Ndi Anambra’s attitude and treatment of their environment.
Speaking earlier in a meeting before the signing ceremony, Dr Aguiyi reechoed the environmental threat facing Anambra state and insisted that change in behavior of the citizenry and tough enforcements of the environmental laws are the only options to reclaiming the state from sinking.
Dr Aguiyi also emphasized that the Ministry of Education will be incorporated in the awareness plan as there is need for environmental education to be included into the school curriculum by teaching children and young people the core values, the dos and the don’ts of the environment.
On his part, the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Mefor harped on the importance of the partnership to accelerate the message on environmental awareness and safe practices to the nooks and cranies of the state.
He stated that the war against environmental degradation cannot succeed if there are no policy-wide partnership among government ministries, departments and agencies with community stakeholders.
