(Ilorin)
The Kwara State Government has endorsed the tree planting initiative to protect and sustain the environment as well as boost the economy.
The Deputy Governor of Kwara State, Mr Kayode Alabi, made this known during a tree-planting ceremony at the Bundies Therapeutic Garden, General Hospital, Ilorin.
Alabi advised residents of the state to be environmental and health-conscious while emphasising the importance of tree planting to making the community green and clean.
He stressed the determination of the state government to make the environment habitable for all but reminded the people on the need to be conscious of Covid-19 pandemic by strictly observing health protocols to check the spread of deadly disease.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Environment, Architect Muhammad Saifudeen said the state government, through the Ministry of Environment, would embrace environmental-friendly ideas capable of improving the environment and the state.
Saifudden added that the ministry had read the riot act to perpetrators of tree felling for charcoal production, dumping of refuse in gutters and rivers and littering of the environment.
He called on all to jealously protect the environment, warning that government would clamp down on violators.
The Acting Chief Medical Director, General Hospital, Ilorin, Dr Bola Abdulkadir commended the innovation of “Bundies Care.”
He said the Therapeutic Garden would not only help the patients and their relatives recuperate, but also the staff to relax.
The Founder, Bundies Care Support Initiative, Mrs Adefila Funmi Osiegbu, said most of the human activities had been anti-nature.
This development, she noted, prevented humans from enjoying the benefits that come with communing with nature, hence the birth of the Bundies Therapeutic Garden.
Osiegbu said her initiative had taken the responsibility of planting 5,000 trees yearly and encouraging others to adopt the same in order to promote a green environment.
Other personalities that grace the occasion include the representative of the Commissioner of Health, the State Coordinator of Save one Million lives, Dr Umar Ibrahim; and Special Adviser to the Governor on SDG, Dr Jemila Bio.
