Lafia — Sustain Nigeria, a youth coalition working to save the earth, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to take action that would put Nigeria on the path of sustainable development.

The Youth group also urged Jonathan to participate in the forthcoming Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a gathering where world leaders are expected to commit to actions that would protect the planet.

The Earth Summit scheduled for Brazil in June is expected to address poverty, economic and social equities and would mark the 20th anniversary of the first historic Rio Earth Summit where governments pledged to take actions to protect the planet while addressing poverty, economy and equities. Yet two decades later, the pressure on the planet continue to grow as do human number and needs.

The Coalition, has therefore joined the global community to call on the President and other well meaning leaders to make a strong presence at Rio, saying "President Jonathan's symbolic presence would give Nigeria a rare opportunity to explore and harness various resources opportunities as well as engage stakeholders in the processes of contributing and finding lasting solutions to food insecurity; job creation; energy poverty; water; cities; oceans and disaster risks management."

The coalition in a statement made available to newsmen said "As a National Coalition of youth working on Green Economy and Sustainable Development, we join our peers in Africa and the rest of the world in calling on our government to recall the definition of 'Sustainable Development' which emphasizes the need for policies that 'enable future generations to meet their needs' and insist that, in its education policies, its tax and subsidy policies, its legal, trade and investment policies, its health and gender policies with the long-term needs of youth and future generations placed at the heart of government thinking.

"On our part, we are mobilizing young people, and relevant stakeholders, to mainstream children and youth into green economy and sustainable development, the statement added.