Governors laud Sterling Bank’s initiative on environment

The Executive Governors of Plateau, Bauchi and Gombe States, Simon Lalong, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo respectively, have commended Sterling Bank Plc, for its role in checkmating desertification experienced in some Northern parts of the country through its tree planting initiative.

Desertification, according to them, has caused a lot of damage to the local economy as it has made farming impossible in affected areas leading to high cost of food items and poor standard of living for the people.

According to a statement from the lender, the governors made these remarks during the tree planting exercise organised by the bank in the three pilot states over the weekend.

They said the initiative would sustain the environment and checkmate the rising challenges posed by desertification as well as generate the much needed awareness on desertification at local, national and global levels.

The bank last week commenced the pilot stage of the tree planting initiative in three states in Northern Nigeria. The initiative, according to the Bank  became imperative as one of the solutions to cushion the effects of desertification in the country, as Nigeria is faced with rapid desert encroachment affecting fifteen northern states with various degree of impact.

The Plateau State Governor who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs Lynda Shekinah Barau, commended the bank for coming up with the initiative, which according to her,  remains the most tested solution to stemming the tide of desertification and is in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals for environmental preservation.

Similarly, Dr. Audu Bogoro, Bauchi State Commissioner for Power, Mines and Environment who represented the Bauchi State Governor at the tree planting exercise noted that the Bank, with the initiative, has raised the bar in Corporate Social Responsibility. He therefore called on other private institutions to support the initiative as desertification impacts negatively on all aspects of human life and the environment including the ecological, health, geo-chemical, hydrological and socio-economic facets.

In Gombe, the State Commissioner for Environment, Abubakar Usman who represented the Governor commended the Bank for coming up with the initiative to support state government’s effort to fight desertification. He added that the state government would also continue to protect indigenous trees and shrub species considered as other veritable solutions.

Earlier in a statement, Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Strategy and Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola emphasised the need for the private sector to support the governments at all levels to checkmate the rising challenges posed by desertification in the country.

He disclosed that from statistics a quarter of the earth’s surface was threatened by desertification and out of the 909,890 km2 of the country’s land area, about 580,841 km2 accounting for 63.83 per cent of total land was impinged on by desertification. He added that extensive cultivation, deforestation, overgrasing, cultivation of marginal land and bush burning were identified as major causes of desertification.