By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Institute of Environmental Practitioners of Nigeria (IEPN) will interrogate ecological evaluations, ecological integrity, environmental management, restoration, remediation, protection, sustainability, and stewardship, as the Nigerian environment is in dire need of intervention.
The first President and Chairman of the Governing Council of IEPN, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, stated this during their inauguration in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the nation’s will soon witness a new positive phase in the area of environmental governance and ecosystem management.
Ezemonye, who was inaugurated alongside other members of the Governing Council as well as committee and ad-hoc committee members, expressed his readiness to shepherd the institute, saddled with the responsibility of regulating the activities of its members in the protection of the Nigerian environment.
He said, “Today marks the beginning of a new era in environmental governance and ecosystem management in Nigeria.
“This new dawn, which is heralded by the inauguration of the Institute of Environmental Practitioners of Nigeria (IEPN) is driven strongly by the passion for corporate environmental stewardship and justice.”
While saying that the strategic fusion of the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES) and Waste Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON) into the IEPN Bill was a spirited determination to salvage the Nigerian environment from both natural and anthropogenic calamities, Ezemonye said no stone would be left unturned to achieve the mission of the Institute.
“The mission of the Institute is very clear: interrogating ecological evaluations, ecological integrity, environmental management, restoration, remediation, protection, sustainability, and stewardship, as the Nigerian environment is in dire need of our intervention,” Ezemonye, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, said.
Earlier, while inaugurating the council, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, said the Federal Government would continue to support and partner with relevant bodies to ensure a sustainable environment in the country.
Represented by Mr. Olusanya Olubunmi, Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Federal Ministry of Environment, the Minister expressed delight in the roles the council will play in the country.
While congratulating the Governing Council, the Minister urged the members to carry out their duties diligently.
On his part, President of NES, Dr. Efegbidiki Okobia, who described the inauguration as historic, said, “Today’s event started way back in 1999, when people who were practitioners felt it was appropriate to have professionalism, quality, standards, and ethics in the environment sector.
“This institute is complementary to the efforts of the Ministry of Environment, its departments, and its agencies. There is no cross-purporse with the institute. The role of the ministry is highly appreciated, which is in regard to policies, regulations, and enforcement, but the practitioners who carry out these functions also need to be properly certified so that the environmental base will be sustained.”
While appreciating former presidents of NES and WAMASON and other stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring the coming on board of IEPN, Okobia called on the Governing Council and committee members to see their new task as huge responsibility and a national assignment.
In a keynote speech titled, ‘The Importance of the IEPN Act to the Nigerian Environment Sector’, former Head of Service of the Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, called on the new council to coordinate every environmental practice in the country without rancour.
He expressed confidence that the IEPN would go a long way to ensuring sanity in the nation’s environmental practices, even as he called on the council to be creative in funding the body.
“We must be ingenious in funding ourselves; we must not beg the government for money; we must lay a solid foundation for the Institute,” Afolabi said.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Akintunde Abiodun, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, Hon Julius Pondi, represented by his deputy, Hon Terseer Ugbor, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), among others, gave goodwill messages during the event.
