Nigerian VP applauds Ethiopia’s GL initiative as practical climate solution, visionary blueprint for the future

Addis Ababa, June 28, 2025 (FMC) — Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasized that Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative stands as a practical response to climate challenges and serves as an inspiring blueprint for reimagining the future.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, alongside the Nigerian Vice President, diplomatic dignitaries, and senior government officials, has officially launched this year’s Green Legacy Initiative program last night, setting an ambitious target of planting 7.5 billion tree seedlings.

“The promise of the Ethiopian Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) is the dream of every nation. It is a lesson in vision, in purpose and in audacity,” the Vice President underscored.

Vice President Shettima also advocated for broader adoption of Ethiopia’s climate friendly development approach through its Green Legacy Initiative program as a model for sustainable development.

“For those of us who have followed this program, the numbers are staggering. But the impact is even more compelling, to plant 25 billion seedlings within four years, to establish over 20,000 nurseries and to create hundreds of thousands of green jobs is to show that the future is something we must plant, nurture and build.”

He added Ethiopia deserves all the applause the world has sent it away and more.

“I come here not only to share your joy and to exchange ideas, but to convey the deep and abiding solidarity of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu and the good people of Nigeria.

Let this we salute every visionary who has made this dream a reality, and we assure you that Nigeria stands with you,” he stated.

He praised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for spearheading the successful rollout of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative through strong and effective leadership.

“Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stands as a real breed of system, an audacious reformer who didn’t merely inherit the architecture of power, but redrew his blueprint with the ink of courage and conviction,” the Vice President stated.

He added: “The Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is one of the greatest leaders in Africa that we should all look up to as a source of inspiration.”

Noting that Africa is not only a land of disasters, the Vice President finally stated that the continent is also a land of promise.