President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to promote tree-planting across the country, as he launches ‘Keep Kaduna Green Project,’ in Kaduna, a project aimed at ending deforestation.


Buhari, who commended Governor Nasir El-Rufai, for the worthy and timely project, said the bold step would reverse the deforestation trend in the country.

The president, who was represented by the Minister of Environment Amina Muhammed, explained that Nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation in the world.

According to him, “environment is one of the six core pillars of this economy, thus underscoring the importance of this administration to the Change Agenda. The initiative in Kaduna State is a clear example of a state’s contribution to the environment component of our economy.”

He explained that the initiative will further highlight the importance of advancing climate action and creating jobs for the youth.

Buhari said, “It is on record that the rate of deforestation is about 3.5% per annum. The implication of this is that about 350,000-400,000 hectares of forest, equivalent to 576 million trees are lost annually.

“The environmental challenges that come with this include desertification, erosion, flooding and reduction in perspiration and contribution to drought, all of which brings untold hardship on communities and the environment,” he added.

According to Today news, Buhari commended the governor for the initiative, lauding the training of 1000 strong team of supervisors to distribute three million seedlings to all the wards across the state.