The newly appointed Minister of State for the Environment, Udi Odum, has affirmed his commitment to contributing to the on-going efforts at securing a quality environment conducive for good health and wellbeing of fauna and flora through the promotion of sustainable use of natural resources.
Speaking while taking over from Chief Sharon Ikeazor, who is now deployed to the Niger Delta Ministry as Minister of State, Odum stressed that environmental issues deserve a prominent response in national development as its impact can be felt by all.
He said: “A lot of achievements have been recorded in the Ministry of Environment, particularly in the area of climate change mitigation, the Ogoniland clean-up exercise and erosion control project, amongst others.
“Working with the Honourable Minister and the Management Staff of the Ministry as well as Chief Executive Officers of Agencies under the Ministry, I will contribute my quota to ensure that Mr President’s agenda is achieved in the environment sector.”
Furthermore, Odum appreciated the outgone Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, for her contributions to the environment sector, assuring her that he would continue with the ongoing projects and planned programmes of the Ministry.
In her remarks, the outgone Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, urged the management staff of the Ministry to extend the same unalloyed support given to her to the new Minister of State.
She assured that she would continue to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Environment, particularly in the area of the ongoing Ogoniland clean-up exercise in the Niger Delta Region.
Welcoming the new Minister of State, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Hassan Musa, expressed the readiness of the Management and Staff of the Ministry to support the Minister in discharging his responsibilities.
