By David Torough, Abuja

The federal government has urged Nigerians to take planting of trees seriously so as to help mitigate the negative impacts of climate change affecting the world.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume made the call at the project launch of the “One Woman, One Tree Initiative” by the Hope Alive Foundation held at Merit House, Abuja on Thursday.

Akume who expressed worry over the rate at which climate change was fast becoming a threat to humanity also called for all hands on deck to help cushion the current reality.

On his part, Director General, National Council on Climate Change, Dr Salisu Dahiru said women were most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change and gender inequality has further exacerbated the impacts.

Dahiru maintained that tree planting contributes to carbon sequestration, which helps mitigate climate change, serve as carbon sinks, capturing and storing significant amounts of carbon thereby making a natural solution to combat climate change.

Founder, Hope Alive Foundation who is also the House of Representatives Member for Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency, Hon Regina Akume said that the foundation was established to empower to participate in climate change mitigation efforts, promote sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment for women through tree planting and agroforestry restore degraded landscapes and enhance ecosystem resilience as well as raising awareness about the importance of environmental conservation and community resilience to climate change.

Hope Alive Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) which was first launched in 2002 is focused on addressing the needs of vulnerable people in the middle-belt region of Nigeria.

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has proposed N350, 000 as minimum wage for workers in the country.

Mr Ibeji Nwokoma, NAAT President said this at the association’s 5th National Delegates Conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

The conference was themed “Technology, a recipe for national development and social-economic growth in the 21st century: The Nigerian quest for a better tomorrow”.

Nwokoma said that nothing less than N350,000 monthly would be enough for Nigerian worker to meet the prevailing economic challenges.

According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy, though with purported intentions to streamline the economy, has inadvertently burdened the worker.

“This is coupled with inflationary pressures, particularly in the unbearable food prices, and the volatility of the exchange rate owing to the floating regime adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“Nigeria must transcend the concept of a mere minimum wage to embrace the notion of a living wage, commensurate with the rising cost of living.

“Comparatively, other African countries have made strides in this regard, recognising the fundamental right of workers to earn wages that afford them dignity and a decent standard of living,.

“On this note, I propose a minimum of N350, 000 for the Nigeria worker as monthly wage,”he said.

He decried the poor funding of tertiary institutions, in spite of the UNESCO-recommended allocation of at least 26 per cent of the national budget to education.

Nwokoma lamented  that Nigeria had persistently fell short of the expectations.

He said the consequence was evident in the deteriorating state of the universities and other tertiary institutions, marked by inadequate funding and infrastructural decay.

“This chronic underfunding hampers academic excellence and impedes the development of human capital, hindering our nations progress,” he said.

Also speaking at the conference,  Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman justified his position that  candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions should be 18 year and above.

According to Mamman, a good number of students below the age of 18 in higher institutions were falling prey to negative vices.

It would be recalled that the minister had advocated for the review of undergraduate age while monitoring the conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja.

On the theme of the conference, the minister said that government was planning to adopt skills and technology from the primary school to the tertiary level.

Mamman said the introduction of skills and technology would go a long way to bridge the unemployment gap.(NAN)

By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has assured that the official residence of the Vice President under construction in Abuja, will not obstruct the flow of traffic when the project is completed. The Minister made the statement when he inspected the ongoing construction works at the Vice President’s official residence, over the weekend.

The Minister said the design and conceptualization of the VP’s residence by the Federal Government took into consideration the flow of traffic around the area, adding that the construction work is being carried out according to specification. BWike further disclosed that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has made its input into the project and that the FCDA and the contractor executing the project have also made the necessary adjustments.According to the FCT Minister, “Those who designed the Vice President’s residence know why. We are not the ones who designed it. It was the Federal Government that decided that the Vice President’s residence should be located here. So, I’m sure they considered everything before deciding that. “We have invited the office of the NSA and they have taken a look and made their input which the FCDA and the contractor, Julius Berger has taken into cognizance and made amendments. So, for traffic concerns, I don’t think it’s a problem”. Barrister Wike meanwhile expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work and assured that the project will be completed and commissioned by next month. He said “significant progress has been made on the project since his last visit to the site, while the contractor has also promised to hand over the project in May, adding that he has no reason to doubt their capacity. “As for the quality of the job, of course, we can see the work is going according to design and specification. So, we believe, by the grace of God, that is something that will be actualized”, Barr. Wike further stressed.The FCT Minister also reassured that other ongoing infrastructure projects in the FCT scheduled to be completed by May next month would be actualized and opened for public use thereby making the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a reality in the FCT.He said the projects will showcase the President’s achievements within his first year of office, in in fulfillment of the promises he made to Nigerians.