Federal Government says that the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACreSAL) project is critical to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, the Honourable Minister for Environment, said this at the ACreSAL technical workshop on Monday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop is organised for the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Water Resources in conjunction with the World Bank. “The ACReSAL Project is one of the central components in President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategy of ensuring environmental sustainability. And improving community livelihoods toward lifting 100 million people out of poverty,” Abdullahi said. He said that his passion for the ACReSAL project exposed him to further understand the environment portfolio and its link with the broader society.
“I am also very passionate about ACReSAL. It is the first project that heralds my assumption of duties when Mr President redeployed me to the Federal Ministry of Environment. I saw the political will and desire of the three ministries in ensuring that targets are meant,” Abdullahi said. According to him, ACReSAL is all about sustainable land management. He said that the ministry was deliberate in inviting stakeholders from the National Parks Service and the Great Green Wall Agency to engage with the World Bank to ensure the success of the project. The minister urged the Project Management Units (PMUs) from the different states to be ‘diplomatically independent’ in their relationship with their state governors. He added that the ACReSAL project had the mandate to ensure land restoration, wetlands cultivation for the improvement of the land to make them fit for cultivation.
He added that the ACReSAL would strengthen Nigeria’s long-term enabling environment for an integrated climate-resilient landscape. “I am here to motivate and energise you. And also to encourage you to deliberate on the Draft Annual Work plan prepared by the various PMUs and clears same for onward transmission to the steering committee for approval. This is the much-needed step that will kick start disbursement of funds by the World Bank for implementation activities to begin,” Abdullahi said. He expressed gratitude to Dr Joy Agene and her team from the World Bank on their efforts toward the full implementation of the ACReSAL project.
