Taraba at 35: Environment Commissioner Rallies Residents Behind Greening Agenda
Taraba State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Aishat A. Barde, has called on residents to support the state government’s Greening Taraba agenda as the state marks its 35th anniversary.
Barde, in a goodwill message commemorating the creation of Taraba State, said the anniversary provides an opportunity for citizens to reflect on the state’s unity, resilience and rich natural heritage while taking collective responsibility for protecting the environment.
Taraba State was created on August 27, 1991, and is marking 35 years of statehood.
The commissioner urged residents to support the environmental directives of Governor Agbu Kefas by planting and protecting trees, discouraging indiscriminate deforestation and bush burning, safeguarding waterways and maintaining clean surroundings.
She also called on farmers and communities across the state to embrace climate-smart agricultural practices as part of efforts to protect the environment while improving livelihoods.
According to Barde, the Kefas administration wants the state’s Climate Change Policy translated from policy statements and programmes into practical interventions capable of producing measurable results.
“The Governor’s directive is clear: our Climate Change Policy must move from policy to implementation and from programmes to measurable results,” she said.
The commissioner stressed that achieving the environmental objectives of the administration would require collaboration beyond the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
She therefore called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies, local government councils, traditional institutions, communities and individual citizens to take responsibility for protecting Taraba’s environment.
Barde said development and environmental protection must go together if the state is to build a safer, greener and more prosperous future.
“Let us develop without destroying. Let us green Taraba together,” she said.
She congratulated the government and people of Taraba State on the 35th anniversary and urged residents to use the occasion to renew their commitment to preserving the state’s natural heritage for future generations.
