THE PORT HARCOURT LINK CLUB

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY (WED) JUNE 5, 2023

COMMITTEE CLOSE OUT REPORT

1.       Constitution: At the January 2023 General Monthly Meeting of the Club, the Chairman of the Club, acting under the powers of the Exco. as provided for in Section 16.1 (1)(g) of the Club’s Constitution, constituted the 2023 World Environment Day Committee with the following Linkites as members:

1. Emma Okah – Chairman

2. Rowland Ogundu

3. Sampson Fiberesima

4. Richard Somiari

5. Anga Harry

6. Ogaranya Nwabueze

7. Amadi Amadi –  Adviser.

2.       Assignment: Organize and execute a WED event consistent with the 2023 theme as released by the United Nations, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) as it aligns with the environmental protection aspiration of Nigeria at large and The Port Harcourt Link Club in particular.

3.       Theme: the theme for the 2023 WED is “Solutions to Plastic Pollution” and it was hosted by Cote d’Ivoire and supported by The Netherlands.

4.       Core activities proposed/adopted:

The Committee submitted three written and one oral report before the event. This report shall adopt all of them.

Four activities were proposed by the committee and the House accepted them as follows:

a) Linkite Charles Nsiegbe Essay/Debate Competition for secondary schools in Rivers State

b) Science Quiz for secondary schools in Rivers State

c) Tree planting at the Club House, 13B, Woji Road, GRA 2, Port Harcourt

d) Refreshment for members at the Club House

The committee recommended an extensive publicity of the event in the mass media to raise the profile and credibility of the Club within Rivers State and beyond. The planning committee assigned roles to specific persons to handle defined roles namely:

• Publicity – Sampson Fiberesima

• Tree planning and Entertainment – Ogaranya Nwabueze

• Essay, Debate & Quiz competitions – Emma Okah

• Other members and the Adviser remained active, played general roles and supported the realization of the overall assignments of the WED Committee
• A Whatsapp group was set up for effective communication of our activities, although the Committee had one physical meeting. We also added the Chairman and vice Chairman of PHLC to the whatsapp group to eliminate exco. and committee communication gaps and it worked effectively.

5.       Event Execution Alliances:

The Committee initiated a relationship with the following organisations but none of them yielded fruit.

• United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (Attempts to register our participation online didn’t sail through as our website was repeatedly rejected or inaccessible).                                                                                                     For political reasons and declining values in our society, perhaps, the underlisted MDAs also failed to even acknowledge letters written to them or attend the events. They are:

• Rivers State Ministry of Environment

• Rivers State Ministry of Education

• Rivers State Wealth Management Agency
• Port Harcourt Local Government Council (PHALGA Council initially gave oral approval for free use of hall but later withdrew it.)

6.       Funds (Income): The committee’s earlier intention to adopt a net zero utilization of Club funds was defeated to some extent. The Committee therefore relied on the funds from the Club and money raised by some members who sponsored specific events and supported other aspects of the events. We are glad to mention them here in deep appreciation and for record purposes.

1. Linkite Adokiye Tombomieye sponsored the Linkite Charles Nsiegbe Essay/Debate Competition with the sum of N500,000
2. Linkite Fubara Duke sponsored the Quiz competition with the sum of N800,000
3. Linkite Adokiye Tombomieye donated the             }

sum of N380,000 to support the WED activities      }        N480,000

• Linkite Austin Opara also donated – N100,000       }        (Donations)
• Tree Planting Rights were initiated to raise funds and the following sums of money were realised:
• Linkite Adokiye Tombomieye – N120,000        }
• Linkite Austin Opara – N100,000                      }
• Linkite Fubara Duke –  N80,000                       }
• Linkite Wisdom Wakama – N60,000                 }        N420,000
• Linkite Opuene Batubo – N40,000                    }        (Tree Planting)
• Linkite Rowland Ogundu – N20,000                 }

TOTAL   =           =                         =N2,200,000

7     Expenditures

The PHLC approved and released funds for the following activities in the budget for the WED 2023.

1.       Secondary School Quiz   =N440,000

2.       Essay/Debate                  =N790,000

3.       Tree Planting                  =N30,000

4.       Entertainment                 =N351,000

5.       Publicity/Media              =N408,350

6.       Tee shirts and caps          =N390,000

7.       Prizes & Certificates        =N20,000

8.       Venue                             =N200,000

9.       Miscellaneous                 =N70,000

10.     Additional Expenses       =N240,000     

          Sub total                        =N2,939,000

This sum of N2,699,000 was utilized as projected. The Chairman of Committee and some members bore financial responsibilities to fill gaps where they existed and I appreciate their contributions too.

7.  Additional expenses

At the request of the WED 2023 Committee, some additional expenses were approved and funds released by the Exco to meet the exigencies of the time as follows:

1. Trophy (45k) with inscription (5k) for the 1^st position in Quiz –  N45,000
2. 2 plaques – N40,000 (N20k x2) plus inscription N5k for

2^nd and 3^rd positions in Quiz          –               –        –            –     N45,000

• Consolation Prize – 4^th School in the Quiz competition    –          N50,000
• Prize of N100,000 for the parallel 2^nd Position

in Essay/Debate Competition    –        –        –        –        –        N100,000

Sub total     –        –        –        –        –        –        –           –      N240,000

TOTAL EXPENDITURES     (N2,699,000 + N240,000)            –      N2,939,000

8. Result of:

a)       Essay/Debate Competition

1^st position: Uche Ikediaso Stanley

2^nd Position: Omoboye Cliffbell                   } 2 students scored equal marks

2^nd position: Nwokoro Chimeremeze Faith   } to clinch the 2^nd Position

3^rd Position:  Sotonye Noble

b)      Quiz Competition

          1^st Position: Federal Government College, Port Harcourt

          2^nd position: Government Girls Secondary School, Orominike, PH

          3^rd Position: Archdeacon Brown Education Centre, PH

          4^th Position: Dietams International School, PH

8.     Lessons learned

1. There is a serious decline in search for intellectualism through competitive education in Nigeria. The PHLC should continue to play roles to reverse this decline.
2. PHLC can be a truly international and national club and not just Rivers State through periodic programmes and activities that play up our objectives.
3. Activities of the WED can be better and successfully organized if early preparations are adhered to.
4. All committees whose activities would touch public dealings should naturally include the External Affairs Officer of the Club as a member.
5. It is advisable for all committees of the Club which operate WhatsApp platforms to add the Chairman, Vice Chairman and General Secretary as observers in order to eliminate Committee – Exco information gap.

9.       Acknowledgement/Appreciation

The Committee acknowledges and appreciates the support of the Club and members, particularly, Linkites Opuene Batubo, Austin Opara, Adokiye Tombomieye, Fubara Duke Wisdom Wakama, Rowland Ogundu, Friday Amadi, Johnny Ezugo, Amadi Amadi and Isidoe Doe Sambol.

Thank you.

Signd:

1. Emma Okah – Chairman

2. Rowland Ogundu

3. Sampson Fiberesima – Secretary

4. Richard Somiari

5. Anga Harry

6. Ogaranya Nwabueze

7. Amadi Amadi –  Adviser