Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director General (DG) of the National Biosafety Agency Management (NBMA), on Tuesday assured Nigerians that the centre would address the lingering environmental issues in the country.
He said this at the unveiling of the Rufus Ebegba Centre (REC) for Leadership and Environmental Sustainability and book launch in Abuja.
The book is titled “Developmental Drive and Strategies, Solution Approach”.
The DG said that without an ideal environment, man could not survive, hence “environment is where we all live”.
He said that his vision is to see how a world where leadership would always be there for the people could be created.
He said despite the threats in the country, citizens had a duty towards leadership.
The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, commended the efforts of the DG for the unveiling of the centre and the book launch.
The Senate President, who is represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Otive Igbuzor, urged everyone to take part in the development of the country so as not to leave it to the government alone.
The Emir of Nasarawa, Malam Ibrahim Jibril, urged everyone to take environmental issues serious as they were front burners that had consequences on humans.
The emir who is also a former Minister of Environment, said the environmental issues were occasioned by climate change and had consequences on the socio-economic activities of Nigerians.
Jibril commended the DG for establishing the centre where researches could be carried out on environmental issues and sustainability.
The DG of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, said that writing book and establishing a centre was a legacy left for everyone to benefit.
He commended Ebegba for conceiving a centre that would transform the lives of people in the country.
“Touching lives of people is something that not everyone of us has the ability to do,” DG NABDA said.
The Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammed Abdullahi, said the centre would offer a lot in the area of biosafety, biotechnology, biosecurity and bio regulations on genetic applications in the country.
The minister, who is represented by his Special Assistant on Environment, Mr Abdulkadir Abdullahi assured of his support for the centre.
The book reviewer Prof. Peter Anyaegbu, said that the book was a veritable tool to the politicians of conscience, civil servants and students of various courses.
He said that it classically discussed the state of Nigeria today and proffered solutions to it in order to achieve a viable and stable economy in Nigeria.
The book has 15 chapters and 188 pages.
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