Yobe State has launched a massive tree-planting campaign targeting two million seedlings to combat climate change and desertification ravaging 10 local councils of the state.

The affected councils include Geidam, Nguru, Yusufari, Yunusari, Nangere, Bade, Jakusko, Karasuwa, Potiskum and Machina, a border community with the Niger Republic.

Speaking at the flag-off in Damaturu, Governor Mai Mala Buni described the campaign as part of the government’s strategy to reclaim degraded land and slow desert encroachment advancing southwards at about 600 metres yearly.

“The planting and nurturing of trees will restore land fertility lost to three decades of desertification,” Buni said. He explained that the initiative, themed “Reclamation of a Greener Version of our Great Lands and Oasis,” is designed to halt further desert spread into the state’s eastern and southern senatorial districts.

Giving details of the project, the governor disclosed that 50,000 seedlings have already been raised, with 3,000 each to be distributed to the 17 councils this month. He urged households and residents to take advantage of the August rains to nurture the seedlings to full maturity over the next five years.

“Let us all take advantage of the rainy season to ensure the success of this campaign,” he appealed, assuring that the 2025 exercise will protect Yobe’s fragile environment against desertification and recurring climate change.

Buni added that the state’s afforestation efforts are in line with the National Great Green Wall (NAGGW) initiative, which targets 50 million trees across Nigeria’s 15 frontline states. He called on community leaders, institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) to support and participate actively in the campaign.