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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Yobe ready for Atiku's visit
THE Yobe State Ministry of Environment has completed arrangements for the Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's working visit to the state slated for tomorrow.
The one-day visit is to enable the Vice President to launch the National Shelter Belt Programme and Afforestation (NSBA).
Disclosing this yesterday while briefing journalists on the Vice President's visit, the Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Kaigama Umar, said that the launching of NSBA would be held at Bayamari in Bursari Council, adding that Yobe was chosen for the launching because it is the most affected state by desertification.
He said out of the 145 hectares of land affected by the desert, two had been set aside for the launching which will involve a total of 1,111 seedlings.
Umar noted that NSBA is a 10-year programme under three phases during which a total of 161,095 seedlings of Gum Arabic, neem trees, prsopis and assorted economic seedlings would be planted.
According to him, the shelter belt programme will cover a total of 1,500 square kilometres of green shelter starting from Damasak in Borno, to Kebbi State.
He added that the 1,500 square kilometre shelter belt would cover 11 states in the north which includes, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger and Bauchi.
On whether the launching was belated in view of the fact that rainy season would soon end which would expose the seedlings to the desert hot weather, he told The Guardian that all the seedlings would be cared for.
He called on all the local communities living in the desert-affected areas to come out enmasse and join the Vice President in the fight against desertification and encroachment in Yobe and the entire North.
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