The sponsor of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021 – often referred to as the “Sam Onuigbo Act” – and Governing Board Member and Chairman, Committee on Security, Special Interventions, and Climate Change, of the North East Development Commission(NEDC), Rep. Sam Onuigbo, has been nominated as part of the Climate Action 30 Global Leaders 2023. This is part of Business Insider’s One Planet programme.
Conveying Onuigbo’s nomination, Lily Katzman, Editor, Special Projects of the Business Insider, said: “We’re excited about honouring you and your work on an issue as urgent as the climate crisis – one that our audience cares deeply about. Climate Action 30 identifies 30 of the top global activists, business leaders, academics, community leaders, and others from around the world who are working toward climate and environmental solutions.”
The nomination is in recognition of Rep. Onuigbo’s inspiring work as a climate leader in Africa which has seen him sponsor and push for assent of the Nigerian Climate Change Act 2021; drive legislative action on climate change across Africa and the world; and persistently champion the mainstreaming of climate considerations in development plans through lectures, papers, and lobbying.
Responding to the nomination, Rep. Onuigbo expressed his happiness that people recognise the sacrifice and hard work that went into the enactment of the Climate Change Act. He thanked God and all the people who contributed and supported the process.
Onuigbo, who said he was dumbfounded by the honour especially because he never met or held any conversations with the organisers prior, said it was an honour earned, not purchased.
The former national lawmaker joins an impressive list of Climate Action leaders including last year’s winners: Lioz Etgar, Professor of Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerome Foster II, White House climate advisor and environmental-justice activist; Sônia Guajajara, Leader, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil; and Sophia Kianni, US representative on the United Nations’ Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and founder, Climate Cardinals, amongst others.
