House Passes Climate Change Bill

By Adedayo Akinwale and Udora Orizu

The House of Representatives has passed the Bill, which seeks to create a National Council on Climate Change to be headed by the President with Vice President as Vice Chairman and members from the 36 States and other agencies of government.

Addressing journalists, the Sponsor, Hon. Sam Onuigbo said the Bill was passed by the 8th National Assembly but was rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He noted that the contentious clauses cited by Buhari have been reviewed by a Joint Review Committee.

Onuigbo said that Nigeria faces a huge existential challenge due to the impacts of Climate Change such as drought, gully erosion, desertification with the attendant food shortages and forced migration that has led to insecurity.

He said the objective of the bill was to ensure that Nigeria has a legal framework that will help coordinate her efforts at Climate Change mitigation and adaptation.

He also said the Bill is seeking a special council on Climate Change, to include the Presidency and several ministries and agencies, in the fight against environmental hazards.

He further said the Bill is part of the parliament’s contribution to aid the government, achieve its goal and promise of fighting Climate Change.

According to him, “It is this awareness of the danger of Climate Change that motivated me to sponsor the Climate Change Bill in the 8th Assembly. Although the Bill was passed by NASS and duly transmitted to the President, he declined assent due to a number of reasons. With this clear conviction, I reviewed the Bill and re-sponsored it in this Assembly. There was however the need to ensure that attention was paid to those parts of the Bill that gave Mr. President concern to be able to do this, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, adopted a coordinated and collaborative approach which involved the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and the Ministry of Environment.

“Accordingly, these ministries nominated representatives to join the Joint Review Committee to work with me to address the issues raised by Mr. President, while also making the Gill more robust a futuristic. We went to work and came up with a reviewed copy of the Bill. I am happy that on Tuesday, July 6,2021, during the Committee of the Whole at the House of Representatives, our report was considered and adopted. It will now be transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.”