By Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Niger state government says it will approach its green economy sustainability plan under three facets namely economy, energy, and job creation.
This is contained in a communique issued at the end of the First Niger State Green Economy Summit.
Reading the communique at the end of the summit on Wednesday, Prof. Aliyu Mohammed Paiko said that the state government has resolved to create the Niger state green economy agency in a bid to fast-track development in the state.
The communique observed that with the significant size of the state and its population, it faces imminent challenges related to human and food security, primarily exacerbated by the effect of climate change that significantly impedes the state’s socio-economic development.
“There is a noticeable lack of synergy among various sectors of the economy.
“There also appears to be a lack of coordination particularly in the taxation of local farmers.
“Education is also visibly absent on the table,” the communique said.
It added that the population of the state continues to grow without a corresponding increase in electricity generation leading to limited access to electricity particularly in rural areas.
It therefore recommended a meeting with electricity generating companies in the state to decide out of two options: whether to share with the state government, all the carbon credits they have been collecting or draw a line to start collecting.
It also backed the proposal of the Niger state government to establish a state-owned Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) as well as a branch of the Nigerian financial intelligence unit (NFIU).
This, the communique said will protect investment and also give confidence to investors.
