The Sokoto State Government says the planting of seven million trees across the state to mitigate the effects of climate change has reached an advanced stage of completion.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Development, Bashir Muhammad-Achida, stated this on Monday at the Climate Finance Readiness Assessment (CFRA) validation workshop in Sokoto.

He said, “Governor Ahmed Aliyu’s interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change, including the planting of seven million trees across the state has attained 70 per cent completion.”

The commissioner appealed to all and sundry to cooperate and support the initiative to enable the government achieve the set goals and objectives.

Mr Muhammad-Achida added that government would review its financing and funding models and adopt policies to address climate change and its effects on the state’s economy.

Describing climate change as an integral concern for the state’s economy, the commissioner said it also affected agriculture, employment and security.

He described the assessment as an important milestone in strengthening the state’s capacity to access, mobilise and manage climate finance to support sustainable and climate-resilient development.

He said the state government was committed to exploring available resources to ensure adequate funding for climate resilience activities.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Environment, Aminu Abdullahi-Iya, said Sokoto State occupies an important position in Nigeria’s region, where environmental pressures could have serious consequences for communities and their economic activities.

He said the state government was committed to implementing policies and programmes to improve environmental quality, strengthen resilience and promote development.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Irrigation, Kabiru Muhammad-Sani, expressed confidence that the assessment report would add value to the government’s efforts to address climate change.

He noted that Sokoto was among the frontline states implementing climate resilience programmes.

Earlier, the National Team Leader of the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement (PACE), Ifenyi Peters-Uguoke, presented papers on climate finance access and the assessment of institutional, legal and policy frameworks.

He also presented papers on public financial management systems and processes, as well as human resources and capacity.

Mr Peters-Uguoke called for increased funding and stronger commitment to climate resilience programmes.

The workshop is expected to validate an assessment report, later to be submitted to the state government for implementation.

(NAN)