– Advertisement –
The Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Lawal, has solicited the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in funding the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW).
The minister made the request during a bilateral meeting with AfDB’s President, Dr Sidi Ould Tah, on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York.
The meeting was at the instance of the Vice-President, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
The agency was established to address land degradation and desertification, boost food security and support communities to adapt to climate change in Sokoto, Kebbi, Kastina, Zamfara, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, and Adamawa states.
It serves as the Nigerian focal point for the actualisation of the vision of the African Union’s Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel project.
The mission of the NAGGW is to halt and reverse land degradation, prevent depletion of biological diversity, ensure that by 2025, ecosystems are resilient to climate change and continue to provide essential services that would contribute to human welfare and poverty eradication.
The minister said, “I want to appeal for the extension of your support to the Nigeria’s National Agency for Great Green Wall.
“The agency is responsible for fencing the Sahelian part of Africa to convert desertification.
“I also want to plead that you should look at what we have done so far in trying to address environmental degradation in the 11 frontline states in Nigeria.
“We have already submitted our proposal to the Ministry of Finance on the issue of clean cooking policy, which is also directly linked to the afforestation process.
“That, also, is important because it is trying to address two issues of deforestation and healt. When you go to the rural areas, most women cook with firewood, and that often expose them to health issues, and even affect the children.”
Also, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development of Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmed Dangiwa, has appealed to the AFDB boss to support the ministry in addressing housing deficit.
He added that the housing sub-sector needed a lot of funding, saying, “we want your intervention in terms of construction of housing development in Nigeria.
“Because there is a very high return in investment in Nigeria if you are investing in Agric, health and education.
“Housing is key sector to draw up a framework to ensure that you fund affordable housing to the population of the country.”
Responding, AfDB’s president assured that under his leadership, he would waste no effort in making the bank provide Nigeria with the support it deserves in terms of developing its human capital.
“My vision for the bank is not a lending institution, it a catalyst institution with which to mobilise resources, capital from all over the world to bring.
“I hope we can really bring capital to the continent to make transformation of our continent and bring value to agricultural sector.”
By Salisu Sani-Idris
