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By Abdullahi Idris, Dutse
The Jigawa State Government has officially launched the 2025 Tree Planting Campaign with a renewed pledge to restore over 5,000 hectares of degraded land across the state.
The flag-off ceremony was held at Pentagon Roundabout, Dutse, where Governor Umar Namadi, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Bala Ibrahim, led the symbolic planting of trees and supervised the distribution of seedlings to local government areas.
The campaign is part of the state’s broader environmental protection strategy, which includes the annual production and distribution of 2.5 million tree seedlings, extensive sensitization efforts, and ongoing collaboration with national and international partners.
In his remarks, Governor Namadi described the exercise as one aspect of his administration’s commitments to the people of Jigawa State, where it pledged to revive and expand ongoing environmental development and protection programmes.
“This is in line with our policy objectives aimed at promoting initiatives that are environmentally friendly, support environmental resilience and sustainability, contribute to the health of our planet, and support the provision of means of sustainable livelihoods for most of the people,” he said.
Highlighting the urgency of the campaign, the governor noted that environmental challenges such as floods, desertification, deforestation, and poor waste management continue to threaten livelihoods across the state.
“These are not distant threats; they are present realities negatively impacting our daily life and livelihoods, our food security whether at the household level or at a larger scale, and the quality of well-being of many of our communities across the state. It is our collective responsibility to fight and win the battle against all forms of environmental degradation.”
To reverse this trend, Governor Namadi revealed that Jigawa is working through the ACReSAL Project to reclaim degraded land using shelter belts, grazing reserves, and agroforestry techniques.
“Presently, the Jigawa State Government, through the ACReSAL Project, aims to restore over 5,000 hectares of degraded land across 27 locations in the state through the provision of shelter belts, grazing reserves, and agroforestry. We are already turning the tide through these bold, measurable actions.”
He also disclosed that five environmental laws have been reviewed and submitted for amendment to the State House of Assembly with the aim of strengthening regulatory enforcement.
These include the Forestry Law, Bush Burning Control Law, Wild Animals Law, and Sanitation Laws.
Governor Namadi added that as a step to mitigate flood risks and manage water flow, the state government has purchased and deployed two amphibious hydraulic excavators for the clearance of river channels affected by Typha grass.
“Further to this, the government is currently constructing drainages in 32 different locations to reclaim eroded and flooded areas. About 130 km of embankments were also made along river tributaries to mitigate flooding, protect farmlands, and build resilience in vulnerable communities.”
The governor issued a stern warning to illegal tree fellers and charcoal producers to desist from such wrongful acts or face the wrath of the law.
‘I want to use this medium to warn those involved in illegal tree felling, those using chainsaws for cutting trees, and the charcoal makers to desist from such acts. As mentioned, our environmental laws and policies have been reviewed with adequate provisions to effectively punish those involved in violating our environmental protection laws, as earlier mentioned.
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