Governors agree to support FG’s planting of 25m trees nationwide

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has agreed to support the Federal Government initiative of planting about 25 million trees across the country to fulfill its obligation under the Paris Agreement.

Chairman of the Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this on Wednesday night after the forum received presentation from the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmoud Abubakar, on the need to plant 25 million trees as pledged by the President.

According to Fayemi, the minister highlighted that the pledge was in line with the nation’s commitment to its obligation under the Paris agreement, adding that the aspirations were also enshrined in the country’s nationally-determined contribution.

Commending the ministry for driving the initiative, the governor said that members pledged to work with the it by ensuring that the right institutional arrangements are in place in all states to ensure that each state supports the tree planting initiative.

Fayemi, who disclosed that the forum also received a presentation from Hypertech Nigeria Ltd on the 3050mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project (MHEPP), said that the team noted that the project was executed by the Federal Government and China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and gave an overview of the huge potential that is lying fallow in the Mambilla region.

He further said that members pledged to work with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning by providing the right institutional arrangements in all states to ensure that each state supports the generation and management of geospatial data after receiving a presentation from the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, on the Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) programme in Nigeria.