- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged to complete the Great Green Wall project, which spans 11 northern states
- The vice president said that the green wall has become an emergency rescue operation due to the changing climate
- The event was marked by the symbolic planting of trees by the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, and Dr. Yusuf Bukar, Vice President and Director General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima, is committed to completing the Great Green Wall project, which spans 11 northern states.
Shettima said it was a campaign promise that would be kept during the inaugural commemoration of the Great Green Wall Day at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said;
The completion of the Great Green Wall was a promise made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his campaign manifesto because the cost of doing otherwise threatens our collective existence. We are, therefore, pleased to share that this inaugural Great Green Wall Day is both an exercise in demonstrating our commitment to this initiative and an act of self-preservation.
The vice president went on to say that the green wall has become an emergency rescue operation due to the changing climate, as evidenced by extreme temperatures, drying rivers, endangered wildlife, and thinning forests.
As a result, he urged Nigerians to invest in the implementation of the “transformative initiative.”
The event was marked by the symbolic planting of trees by the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, and Dr. Yusuf Bukar, Vice President and Director General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
Dr. Bukar stated in his opening remarks that the agency was transforming Nigerian dry lands through afforestation, reforestation, alternative cooking sources, and energy use.
The Federal Ministry of Environment established the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) in 2015 by Act of Parliament to pursue the vision of the African Union and its Heads of State and Governments when they adopted and launched the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI) in 2007. The initiative is spread across 22 African countries.