Climate change: Niger govt establishes Green Initiative Agency, SAP Zones

In its efforts to draw up a blueprint on climate change, the Niger State Government has established a new agency called the Niger State Agency for Green Initiative, and also pursued the establishment of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones across the State.

Disclosing this on Monday to a team of journalists that visited the state on a fact-finding mission, the Commissioner for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Honourable Yakubu Kolo, stated that the State government is coordinating different sectors to ensure that issues that have to do with climate change, which include flooding, are tackled head-on.

According to Honourable Yakubu Kolo, “The moment His Excellency, Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, assumed office, he picked an interest in climate change.

“As a result of that, we hosted the world and the nation to a summit, the Niger State Green Economy Summit, which was the first of its kind by a regional government in Nigeria.

“That summit was able to develop a blueprint that is guiding the state on climate activities. The blueprint has mandated different sectors of the economy in the state, particularly those that have to do with climate activities.

“With that blueprint, we have also been able to establish the Niger State Agency for Green Initiative, with a DG appointed and backed by the law from the Niger State House of Assembly.

“This agency is working and coordinating different sectors to ensure that issues that have to do with climate change, which of course includes incidents like the Mokwa flooding, are tackled.”

On the establishment of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), the Niger State Commissioner revealed that, “The Niger State airport city is also being developed into a special agro-processing zone.

“We are partnering with China, and the state government has secured some funding from China. We have four locations for the SAPZ. We have two in Mokwa, and we have one in Niger State, which is the airport. Some of these activities are the reason why His Excellency even changed the name of this ministry from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. He has also gone ahead also to establish the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy.”

On the fight against illegal tree cutting, Yakubu Kolo stated that, ” We have banned so many things, including illegal tree cutting. We have laws that also make people to plant trees around homes. “There’s a law we have in the ministry that gives the ministry power to ensure that at least in every home, you must plant at least two to four trees around your environment, and then there’s also a law that stops people from cutting down trees.

“One of the major challenges we face in Nigeria is this charcoal making. If you travel between Bida and DjebJebba, you will see a lot of bags of charcoal. These are major challenges, and these are also causes of deforestation.

“Not only just cutting the trees, they cut some of these economic trees, like the shea butter tree, which is one of the trees we promote. Just two days ago, His Excellency, the Niger State Governor, commissioned one of the biggest shea butter plants in the state, which you don’t have anywhere in Nigeria.

“So with this, the state is on its own to ensure that no illegal activity, as far as cutting down trees and making charcoals in the state, takes place.”

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