By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Senior Special Assistant to Kwara Governor on Communications Ibraheem Abdullateef said on Tuesday that the administration is driven to become the best in climate governance in the country to foster safety and food security in the state.

This follows the recent report by the Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment on the ranking of climate change governance and administrative structure by subnational governments in Nigeria.

Other criteria included the presence or absence of climate policy and action plan; extent of climate change project implementation; extent of climate finance in state budgets; and online visibility of state’s climate activities.

“Kwara ranked 10th on the performance report of Nigeria’s 36 States on Climate Governance done by the Department of Climate Change Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria,” Ibraheem Abdullateef, SSA to the Governor on Communications said on Tuesday in a statement made available to journalists in Ilorin.

“Simply put, it recognises that the state has a ‘good’ status on climate change governance and administration, climate policy and action plan, and healthy climate financing in its budget. This is a welcome development for Kwara State Government, especially the state Ministry of Environment. This will motivate everyone to do more.

“Among other things, this is an acknowledgement of our work in the communication team of the Kwara State Government in raising citizens’ awareness of climate and environmental issues, and fostering a positive relationship and partnership between the government and the people, and other stakeholders for sustainable development.

“I am particularly inspired to do more with my advocacy and education on social media and especially on radio to amplify our reach and impacts. We look forward to climbing the table further in the next report. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq understands the nexus between climate change, environment, and agriculture and will stay committed to achieving better environmental conditions for safety and food security in the state.”He concluded in the statement.