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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.