The Governor of Cross River, Sen. Professor Ben Ayade has declared July 30th as a public holiday in the state to Mark and celebrate Green Carnival in the state.
Immediate Past Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, now Chairman, Committee for the organization of the Green Carnival, Dr. Alice Ekwu, who represented the governor at the occasion disclosed this Calabar on Thursday while speaking to newsmen, said that the green carnival this year with theme "Calabar Green Canopy Scheme" is the annual tree planting ceremony in the state introduced by the administration of Senator Prof Ben Ayade.
To successfully execute the programme, Dr Ekwu explained that His Excellency, the Digital Governor has set up a 7-man committee with herself, who is the immediate past Commissioner for Climate Change and Forestry, as Chairman, and that it is the desire of the governor that this year's Green Carnival and Tree planting exercise records huge success which is why he has decided to set aside a special day for it.
"His Excellency the Digital Governor reiterated that setting aside a day for tree planting “underscores the State's commitment to forest conservation and management, including our readiness to execute REDD+ programmes.
According to the Governor, the event will be carried out simultaneously in the 18 Local Government Areas of the State on the same day, and that a total of one million trees will be planted during this year’s Green Carnival.
Governor Ayade also said that the Green Carnival is one of the measures to drive home our commitment to the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the Super Highway while tackling the general global warming, deforestation and climate change.
The Governor is very optimism that the state’s forest cover, which represents 58 percent of Nigeria’s forest cover, will through the Green Carnival, grow to 68 percent, and that the Urban Green Canopy Calabar initiative as stated in the theme will sustain Calabar as the greenest city in Nigeria while Cross River remains the greenest state."
Consequently, all schools, homes, ministries, government agencies and departments, banks, hospitals and all business premises are required to plant new trees as it would be an offence not to plant a tree on that day,
The Chairman of the 2019 Green Carnival committee, Dr Alice Ekwu while addressing the committee members reiterated the need for total commitment to the enormous task of delivering this project in time, and emphasized the importance of all Cross Riverians supporting the Superhighway project by massively planting trees in compliance with the requirements for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA ) for the execution of this laudable signature project of the Governor.
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