American billionaire and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership role in restoring degraded lands in the country.

A statement by the president’s media aide, Garba Shehu, on Monday in Abuja, quoted Mr Bezos as describing the commitment of the Nigerian leader to restore four million hectares of degraded land as exemplary.

“We are fortunate to have President Buhari of Nigeria with us today. Nigeria plays a critical role in the restoration movement and has pledged to restore four million hectares of degraded lands,” said the Amazon founder. “This kind of ambition coming from Africa’s largest economy underscores just how vital this issue is.”

Mr Bezos joined Mr Buhari, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles and the Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, at a COP26 side event, ‘Accelerating land restoration in Africa, the case of the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative’.

The Bezos Earth Fund has $10 billion to fund projects fighting climate change.

Nigeria is due to assume the leadership of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall. Mr Buhari had in his address appealed to global leaders to continue to make concerted efforts at land restoration.

‘‘I am optimistic that Africa’s ambition of restoring over 100 million hectares of degraded landscape for productive agriculture is achievable,’’ he said.

Mr Buhari also pledged Nigeria’s unalloyed commitment to expanding the achievements of the GGW programme in Africa from the enviable status attained under the leadership of Mr Ghazouani.

‘‘Together, we commit to the transformative process of restoring the African degraded landscape and ultimately the continent’s environment,’’ he said.  

(NAN)