Protection Of Endangered Species: House of Reps. Considers Rep. Onuigbo’s Bill

Rep. Sam Onuigbo, member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency, has taken a further step towards biodiversity conservation by sponsoring the Bill for the protection of endangered species. His Bill, “Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, 2023” on Wednesday, 25th January, 2023, passed through First Reading at the House of Representatives.

The Bill which seeks to establish a legal framework for the conservation, protection and recovery of endangered species and their habitat represents a critical effort at biodiversity conservation and a sustainable planning for the future of Nigeria.

It will be recalled that the lawmaker is the father of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021, which is the first stand-alone comprehensive climate change legislation in West Africa.

Recently, Nigeria has recorded several incidences of capturing and killing of wildlife without recourse to their extinction with policy flip-flops creating an uncertain atmosphere for mitigating these abnormalies.

This ambitious task undertaken by Rep. Onuigbo is a very crucial one, because a well-balanced ecosystem maintains the health of the environment. All living things are part of a complex and delicate ecological balance, and the consequences of an imbalance can be very detrimental.

The Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill when signed into law, will position Nigeria to key into the global sustainable development goal of a resilient people and planet, and this is pivotal to our collective survival.