Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Kunle Salako, took time off the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, to plant his 50th tree in Ayetoro, Ogun State.
The exercise forms part of his determination to meet the new year resolution to plant 100 trees in 2024 as his personal contribution to the “Greener Nigeria campaign” of Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Salako dedicated the 50th tree planted at the Permacultural Garden created by Asalam Alekum Foundation (AAF) at Ajoda High School, Ayetoro, to the memory of his late father, Alhaji Yunus Omotosho Salako.
AAF, a non governmental organisation, was established in 2011 by the minister in memory of his father. He said the occasion is an effort aimed at greening the school with over a 100 trees.
Fielding questions on the potential for job creation that the tree planting programme offers, Salako said the intention of the Federal Government is to plant two million trees across at least 24 local government areas of the federation and engage at least 1,200 youths per annum.
“At every local government we are going to be covering about 10 hectares of land as community forests. When we plant those trees, they are going to be populated by fruit trees and they are going to be owned by the communities.
“For a year, the Federal Government is going to support the nurturing of those trees. We will engage youths, we are going to be paying them some stipends to make sure they take care of the trees and at the end of the year, we will hand over the trees to the community to continue to maintain them,” Salako noted.
The minister added that the national tree planting programme of the government tagged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Green Heroes scheduled to take-off in July will take advantage of the rainy season.
The Vice Principal of Ajoda High school Ayetoro, Mr Claudius Akinyemi, thanked the minister for considering the school for the scheme and assured that the students would be encouraged to toe the path of tree planting once they returned from the Eid-el-Kabir break.
Salako intends to plant the remaining 50 trees in the North-East, North-West and South-East regions having planted trees in the South-South, North-Central, now South-West.
Read Also: River crisis: IGP condemns killings of personnel