Vice President Kashim Shettima has warned about the critical state of Nigeria's forests and its economic implications if not tackled immediately, calling or concerted effort to remedy the situation.
Shettima disclosed this at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025.
The summit was organised by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion(PreCEFI) Secretariat, with the theme: "Sustainability of Nigeria's Forests: Unlocking the $2 billion potentials for economic and financial inclusion.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The Vice President, who was represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hadejia, stressed that the summit must be remembered not as just another policy dialogue, but as a turning point where investment, innovation and industrialization of Nigerians forest economy for sustainable national progress was discussed.
This is as the Founder/CEO of Netzence sustainability limited (Netzence), Dr. Sadiq Sani assured that his company is using technology to unlock the over two billion dollars potentials in the forest sector.
Speaking while declaring the summit open, Shettima said "more than 90 percent of Nigeria's original forest cover has been depleted, and over 400,000 hectares lost annually, saying the situation was not an environmental crisis, but "economic emergency."
He stressed that the country is at a crossroads and that neglecting forest resources directly impoverishes the nation and its people.
"We cannot underestimate the importance of our forests. They are a treasure trove of biodiversity, timber, medicinal plants, and other valuable products that underpin agriculture, trade, health, climate resilience, and finance. Yet this vast potential remains largely untapped."
The VP said Nigeria could not ignore this challenge and called for innovation and inclusion, saying: "Embedding financial services in forest-based livelihoods will improve credit access, savings, insurance, and digital tools -- crucial for the 30 million Nigerians who remain financially excluded, especially women and girls."
Founder and CEO of Netzence, Dr. Sani, who was one of the key speakers at the event, said his company is contributing to provide technology that will unlock over two billion dollars from the nation's forestry.
He promised that Netzence is contributing to providing the technology needed to unlock the potential of $2 billion for Nigerian forestry, adding that "Our goal is to provide technology that allows us to measure emissions--the greenhouse gases (GHG) in our environment--and see how we can realize carbon credits for the environment as well. That is our fundamental aim through our proprietary technology CloseCarbon."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He said the company is using technology built for the forestry environment, saying "We're currently building models regarding forest composition and decomposition. This lets us understand emissions and greenhouse gas levels in the forestry environment, and also the amount of carbon credit."
Answering questions from Journalists, he said the Company is currently working with the Federal Government from the presidency, ministries, like Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and Environment and agencies under the Ministry of Environment.
