Nigeria’s former member of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Sam Onuigbo, has been Inaugurated as President Global Legislators Organisation for a Balance Environment, (GLOBE) during the ongoing climate week event being held in London.
Presenting his inaugural address, at the event that took place at the Churchill Room of the House of Commons, UK Parliament, London, Rt. Hoon onuigbo pledged to strengthen parliamentary leadership in global climate action.
The new GLOBE President who represented the people of Ikwuano, Umuahia North and South Federal Constituency for eight years, outlined an ambitious agenda aimed at expanding parliamentary engagement in climate governance, promoting green investments, advancing climate education and building the capacity of lawmakers worldwide to tackle climate change.
Speaking on the theme, “Building Political Resilience and Public Consensus for Climate Action at a Time of Severe Domestic and Geopolitical Challenges,” he assured that his administration would work closely with the organisation’s board, staff and partners to confront pressing climate challenges through stronger legislative action.
The former National Assembly member announced that GLOBE would intensify collaboration with governments, development agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector to promote green investments and climate initiatives while creating more opportunities for knowledge sharing, capacity development and peer learning among parliamentarians.
According to Rt. Hon. Onuigbo, one of the organisation’s priorities will be to ensure that discussions at international climate forums translate into practical actions within communities across the world as he identified climate education as a major pillar of his administration which GLOBE would champion in order to integration climate literacy and environmental sustainability into educational curricula globally.
The former federal lawmaker equally stated that the organisation would expand its Student-MP Climate Surgery initiative, first implemented in Nigeria in 2022, to equip young people with the knowledge and leadership skills required to address future environmental challenges and further pledged to strengthen the capacity of legislators through peer exchanges and targeted training programmes as informed and empowered parliaments remain central to effective climate governance.
“Climate change remains one of the defining challenges of our time, and effective responses require informed and empowered legislators who can champion robust policies, enact progressive legislation, ensure adequate appropriations for climate action and mobilise public support,” he said.
Rt. Hon. Onuigbo also called on legislators, governments, development banks, donor agencies, academics and young people to support parliamentary engagement on climate issues, insisting that meaningful climate action cannot succeed without active parliamentary participation.
He paid glowing tribute to members of parliament across Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific for advancing climate action through GLOBE’s parliamentary network while he specifically acknowledged the vision of former Senate President of Nigeria, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who introduced the organisation to Nigeria and supported its expansion across Africa.
Rt. Hon Onuigbo further noted that GLOBE had strengthened its global parliamentary engagement under its UNFCCC mandate by hosting the first Parliamentary Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai UAE and another at COP29 in Baku Azerbaijan, with plans already underway for a similar pavilion at COP31 in Antalya Turkey while pledging to build on the organisation’s achievements and ensure that its vision of strengthening parliamentary leadership for climate action continues to grow globally.
