Governor Ahmed Aliyu has launched the 2025 Tree Planting Campaign in Sokoto New City, Kasarawa. He urged residents and local councils to work together to stop desertification, which is spreading quickly and destroying farmlands in the state.
At the event on Friday, the governor said the state government, through the Ministry of Environment, had provided thousands of tree seedlings. These will be shared across all 23 local government areas. He asked council chairmen to collect the seedlings quickly and encourage communities to plant them.
Aliyu explained that Sokoto lies in the Sahel region, which makes it highly vulnerable to desert encroachment. “The desert is spreading at a fast rate. We must rise to this challenge,” he warned.
The governor also cautioned people against cutting down trees carelessly. He said anyone who cuts a tree must plant another in its place.
He linked tree planting to religion, reminding the people that Islam values the act. “Planting trees is a continuous charity (sadaqatul jariyya) whose reward continues even after death,” he added.
Aliyu praised the National Agency for the Great Green Wall for giving Sokoto 450,000 date seedlings as part of the nationwide fight against desertification and climate change.
He said the seedlings will be shared through nursery centers in Gundunga, Goronyo town, and Sanyinna. They will go to individuals, NGOs, schools, mosques, hospitals, and other public institutions.
The Commissioner for Environment, Nura Tangaza, said Sokoto is aiming to plant 500,000 trees this year. He stressed that the campaign can only succeed if local communities fully take part.
The Director General of the Great Green Wall, Dr. Saleh Abubakar, represented by the Director of Afforestation, also promised that the agency would continue its efforts to stop desert encroachment in 11 northern states.
The event ended with dignitaries, council chairmen, community leaders, and government officials planting tree seedlings as a symbolic start to the campaign.
