President Bola Tinubu has promised to ensure the planting of 25 million trees by 2030 to protect the environment and provide opportunities for Nigeria's youths within the green economy value chain.

He also called for action by citizens, stakeholders, institutions and development partners to safeguard the environment and ensure a win-win transition to a prosperous and clean economic future.

The president stated this Wednesday in commemoration of the World Environment Day.

World Environment Day, established by the United Nations during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, is an important moment for raising awareness of environmental matters.

The president said the theme of this year, 'Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience', is very significant, particularly for Nigeria, where the scourge of drought threatens parts of the country.

Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement said the president also approved the establishment of Nigeria's first Green Industrial Zone, Evergreen City, which is poised to be the leading manufacturing hub in Africa for renewable energy technologies, green solutions and climate-adaptation technologies.

FG seeks enforcement of laws, to prevent degradation

Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has called for collaborative efforts to strengthen the enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations to prevent further degradation of Nigeria's land resources.

The minister made the call at an event to mark the 2024 World Environment Day in Abuja on Wednesday with the theme "Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience."

Lawal urged stakeholders to join hands in promoting sustainable land use practices, enforcing land tenure rights and cracking down on illegal logging, deforestation, poaching and all other acts capable of destroying our natural environment.