Ahead the 2023 general elections , Connected Development (CODE), a Civil Society Organisation, has advocated for the need to make climate change and environmental improvement central to political manifestos.
The Chief Executive Officer of CODE, Hamzat Lawal who made this known at the group’s annual Earth Hour event with the theme: `Shape Our Future’ in Abuja said that the event was organised to tackle the adverse effects of global warming on the planet.
He said CODE had a primary objective of influencing people into creating a greener and sustainable society leveraging on the theme to drive the adoption of a more conscious approach to tackle climate change.
“So I am committed to educating, mobilising and organising 40 million votes in Nigeria, and these 40 million individuals will be educated to engage their candidates, not just presidential but governors and legislators.
“They will ask them salient questions around the environment and climate change and what are their personal commitments towards improving the environment are, and what kind of policy and regulatory framework they will put in place.
“For me, I want to ensure that for the 2023 elections, the conversation is centred on climate change.
“Therefore, if candidates are not committing to a public debate around climate change and environment, the 40 million dedicated voters should not vote for them,” he said.
He said that CODE was committed to leading a mass campaign to get communities to plant trees and name them so that they could be like humans among people to help in holding the ground strong.
He said that the government would not be able to tackle the challenges of climate change alone, hence all hands must be on deck.
Also, the General Manager, Transcorp Hilton, Mr Kevin Brett commended CODE for the initiative, saying that the hotel was in support of strategies that would help solve the problem of global warming.
Brett said that the hotel devised various ways to save energy and to solve environmental hazard challenges.
He said for instance, the hotel replaced conventional water taps with censored taps to reduce water wastage, among others.
Each and every one of us everywhere has a stake in the future of our planet and can help in protecting our world’s limited natural resources, so please join us to achieve that task,’’ he said.
