The Bauchi State House of Assembly has adopted a motion calling on the state government to as a matter of urgency direct the 20 local government area councils in the state to start planting trees strategically across the state.
The motion was moved during Wednesday’s plenary by the member representing Giade Constituency, Dan’umma Bello, calling on the state government to direct all the 20 local government areas in the state to provide 1,000 hectares of land for tree planting to avoid the adverse effects of climate change in the state.
While moving the motion, Bello explained that climate change was impacting human lives, adding that it is threatening the essential ingredients of good health, clean air, safe drinking water, nutrition supply and shelter.
“I would like to inform you that an investigation shows that between 2030 and 2050 climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, which is caused by malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heatwaves alone.
tht=”The direct damage costs to health is estimated at between USD 2-4 billion per year by 2030,” the lawmaker informed.
Bello explained that given the negative effects of desertification on the socio-economic wellbeing of the people, areas with weak health infrastructures like Nigeria would be least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond to the looming danger.
In view of his submission, the lawmaker prayed that the House supports tree planting in all the 20 local government areas on at least one thousand hectares each.
In his contribution, a member representing Disina Constituency, Saleh Hodi Jibir said despite the campaigns for tree planting for more than 40 years, the places such trees were planted were usually abandoned by the local governments without any proper care.
He then suggested that the local government councils be directed to take care of the previous trees planted in their respective areas.
On his part, Baballe Abubakar Dambam, suggested that the House mandates multinational companies that acquired lands in the state to plant trees wherever they acquired such lands, explaining the companies destroy trees for their industries without planting any replacements.
In another development, the Assembly has released its timetable for the defence of the 2022 Appropriation Bill presented by the state governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed Thursday last week.
This followed the adoption of the timetable as presented on the floor of the House by the chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulkadir Umar Dewu.
Presenting the budget defence schedule, Dewu informed that the committee proposed that MDAs commence on Tuesday, 23rd November 2021, while the committee would submit its reports on Wednesday, 8th December 2021.
He said the commencement of budget appropriation exercise by the main committee would commence from Thursday 9th to Saturday 18th December, 2021.
He said the production of the final budget report will commence from Monday, 29th November to Tuesday, 21st December 2021, while presentation and laying of the final budget report on the floor for consideration and adoption will be for Wednesday, 22nd December 2021.
