BY AKUDORO GLORIA
The Tantita Security Services Limited said it is aiming to implement a $320 million carbon credit program for the Niger-Delta region, as part of efforts to drive community development and sustainable environment.
The Executive Director Operations and Technical of Tantita Security Services, Capt. Waredi Enisuoh, disclosed at a lecture organised by Highstone Global University (HGU) Texas, USA, on Saturday in Asaba, Delta State.
The High Global University is an online university based in Texas, USA, founded in 2019 with the mission to empower working adults by providing accessible, high quality and affordable education.
Capt. Enisuoh, who received an honorary doctorate degree alongside 17 others at the event, spoke on the theme, “Sustainability Through Good Governance and Community Development”.
Explaining the benefit of carbon credit initiative would present for communities within the maritime area, Capt. Enisuoh maintained that in spite of years of environmental degradation, many parts of the maritime area remain rich in vegetation.
The company’s ED, while stating the goal of the company to make the communities economically independent of oil and gas, by engaging them in carbon credit generation and carbon capture programme, opined that according to research conducted in the region, mapped areas with approximately 50,000 trees could generate $320 million annually, providing a sustainable alternative income stream for the people.
He however, warned that the figure would require scientific validation and alignment with Nigeria’s Climate Change Act of 2021 to ensure long-term success.
His words: “Our commitment is 100 per cent because we are in a contract, we are not just in it for the money but because it’s all about our environment. We do not want a situation where our future generation has nothing to fall back on in terms of the environment.”
Capt. Enisuoh who thanked the Federal Government for opportunity giving to the company, assured that, “We are not in anyway going to abrogate the responsibility towards our own environment. We will continue to sensitise the community to take their eyes off nefarious activities in the area.
“We will try as much as possible to change the behavioral activities of the community to ensure that investors come to the place with peace of mind and jobs to create.”
Acknowledging the progress made in restoring the Niger Delta’s ecosystem, Enisuoh credited the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) Pipeline Protection Programme, and the continuity of environmental policies from the previous administration to the current government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A lecturer and HSE Manager at Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Prof. Jasper Ikpesu, in his address said it only require a strongwill commitment from governments, institutions and individuals to work collaboratively towards shared sustainable goals.