FG reiterates commitment to address desertification challenges
NAN-H-21
Desertification
Kano, Jan. 21,2017(NAN) The Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Muhammad, says the Federal Government is determined to address desertification challenges in the northern part of the country.
Muhammad spoke on Saturday in Kano when she paid a courtesy call on Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje as part of her working tour to the state and advocacy for the Great Green Wall Programme (GGWP).
The GGWP is a project developed by African Union to address social, economic and environmental impact of land degradation and desertification in the Sahel and Sahara zones.
She said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recognised the importance of afforestation in the economic well being of the people of the area.
The minister said that the project which was initiated in 2005 was designed to alleviate the suffering of the people living in the region
The minister said that the ministry would reposition the GGWP to curb desertification in the affected northern states.
She also said that the ministry embarked on tour to assess the gravity of environmental challenges.
“The tour took us to Jigawa and Kano and we will also visit Niger,Yobe and Kaduna State on issues of industrial pollution and desertification.
The minister said that the project was expected to generate economic activities in the states involved and urged them to desist from felling but rather plant trees.
According to her, the ministry will collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in resuscitation of river basins and irrigation in the country.
Responding, Gov. Ganduje called on Nigerians to cooperate with the present administration in tackling the nation’s environmental challenges.
The state governor who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar commended the minister for the visit and called on the minister to look into the issue of pollution in Challawa Water Works and other areas.
In the area of desertification, the governor thanked the minister for graciously making Kano a centre of GGWP.NAN)
MNT/OU/OU
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Edited by Obike Ukoh
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