Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Environment Correspondent of Authority Newspaper, Mr Chuks Oyema has been elected Chairman, Nigerian Journalists for Climate Action Network (NIJOCAN).
Mr Oyema and other officials of NIJOCAN were elected at a 2-day Stakeholders meeting at Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The event sponsored by the European Union-Nigerian Climate Change Response Programme (NCCRP), had in attendance staff of the Department of Climate Change, (DCC), Federal Ministry of Environment.
A communique signed by the newly elected Chairman, said that the Director, DCC, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe declared the meeting open.
In her speech read by the Deputy Director, GHG, Mrs Victoria Pwol, she commended the development partners, European Union for their unrelenting efforts towards ensuring that Nigerian’s conditional commitment to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG| emissions by 47% by 2030 is achieved.
According to the communique, members of the network agreed to play their roles in the collaborative reporting project with the EU-NCCRP by highlighting creative and promising innovations adopted by the Nigerian government to tackle the climate change crisis.
“That NIJOCAN has developed a template for it’s 12-month Action Plan highlighting actionable storylines with specific thematic areas on climate change, dates of delivery of the stories, designated media organisations and team lead for each area.
“That NIJOCAN will report and elevate the voices of those with lived experiences of Climate Change impact and in so doing help them to mitigate and adapt to climate change events in the country.
“That NIJOCAN has developed and refined our vision partly articulated in an operable 12-month Action Plan produced at the stakeholders meeting.”
“That progress made by NIJOCAN in the implementation of the collaborative reporting project action plan will be evaluated by a combined team of the NCCRP and the DCC.
“That NIJOCAN has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with the NCCRP to create the needed awareness on climate change through robust reporting/publication of the subject matter to alleviate poverty, promote Climate Change Action’, promote local programmes aimed at economic justice for Nigerians.
“That members of NIJOCAN COMMEND the Goodwill and initiative of the DCC, Federal Ministry of Environment; the NCCRP and the European Union for the efforts made to help Nigeria achieve it’s set climate action targets.
NIJOCAN members are drawn from different media organisations and cover beats such as Agriculture, Environment, finance, defence etc.
The collaborative project is being funded by the European Union.
