The Niger State Government has launched its blueprint for a Green economy with a plan to plant a billion trees within the next four years, as well as transition 800,000 homes from fossil fuels and national grid to off-grid solar power solutions.

The unveiling of the blueprint was announced out by Gov. Mohammed Umar Bago of the State on Friday during the side event organised by the state at the global ongoing climate change conference, tagged COP28, in Dubai.

The governor further disclosed that Niger State had signed an agreement with a sister state in the United Arab Emirates as part of the state’s efforts in tackling climate change.

“We have signed an agreement as a state with a sister state here in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); we want Niger State to be coopted as a sister state in Dubai.

“We want to plant one billion trees on one million hectares of land in the next four years and we are serious about that.

“We want to get carbon credits through our rivers and hydro dams for our state and our nation. We are not going to be spoon-fed anymore as a state.

“We understand the power we have on our rivers and hydro dams in the carbon market.
“We want to transition 800,000 homes from fossil fuels and national grid to off-grid solar power solution,” Gov. Bago explained.

Governor Bago further disclosed that the Niger State Government had utilized the COP28 platform to secure funding to support its climate action efforts.

The governor revealed that it had been able to secure a line credit loan of £100 million from a Deutsch bank.

However, Governor Bago pointed out that the state needed more international investments to create employment in Niger State.

“If we spend $2 billion in Agriculture, we will make $5 billion every year,” he added.