President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged the sum of $550,000 to the building of the Great Green Wall Secretariat.
The president made the pledge during the Conference of Heads of STATES and governments of Pan-African Great Wall member states at the flag of the national tree planting campaign on the margin of the 8th ordinary session of the council of Ministers of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW).
He was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja.
Nigeria is part of the African Union’s Great Green Wall initiative which aims to restore the continent’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives, while boosting food security, and strengthening climate resilience.
The initiative is aimed at combating desertification in the Sahel region through the planting of trees stretching the entire Sahel to hold back the expansion of the Sahara.
“While announcing that Nigeria has also fulfilled the payment of its outstanding contribution of about $654,291 to the project, the president called on other member countries to follow suit by contributing towards the building of a befitting office for the PAGGW.
“The Minister will take appropriate States in line with the understanding we had at the Abidjan side meeting held on 9th May, 2022,” he stated.
President Buhari said that African countries must continue to explore various measures to combat climate change, desertification while also addressing food insecurity and poverty across the continent.
