By Ojugbele Omotunde
The Minister of state for environment, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako has pledged to collaborate with Media on Environmental awareness.
The Minister disclosed this yesterday when he received a delegation of NaturNews management led by Managing Director, Rasheed Yusuf, and Chief Operating Officer, Pius Alabi, in his office.
Salako disclosed that whatever the ministry is doing would not have optimal impact without Media collaboration.
He further stated that the ministry’s policies and programmes required a lot of sensitisation and Media campaign in order to educate the general public on environmental sustainability and protection.
The Minister disclosed that the Federal Government through the ministry’s 18 key deliverable areas planned to plant six million (6m trees) this year, to stem the challenges posed by climate change.
He therefore urged the general public to plant at least one (1) tree per person to augment government’s efforts in greening the environment, emphasizing that animals and plants are very important in the ecosystem.
Salako further revealed that the ministry would this year scale up its Media campaign activities and urged NatureNews newspaper to be prepared for the campaign to educate and Sensitize the public on Environmental actions and sustainability.
“Our doors are always opened to the Media” he stressed.
Earlier, the Managing Director, NatureNews, Mr. Rasheed Yusuf, congratulated the minister on his appointment and solicited for more areas of collaboration between the ministry and his organisation.
Yusuf stated that the NatureNews, as a media organisation has been rated as No 1 nature newspaper in Africa and No 13 globally, out of a sampled media organization of about 2,400
He disclosed to the minister that the Annual Hero of Environmental Action for Development (HEAD) Award of the NatureNews is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 27th February, 2024 at Yar’dua Centre Abuja and requested the presence of the Hon. Minister at the event.
It would be recalled that NatureNews as a Media outfit started it’s operation on 1st October, 2020 covering environment, Agriculture, Water, Mining, petroleum sectors among others.
