Ekiti Targets Green Economy as Forest Day Sparks Investment Drive

International Day of Forests 2026 became a policy stage in Ekiti State on Tuesday, as Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji unveiled a clear shift, trees are now economic assets, not just environmental symbols.

From the outset, the message was blunt. Ekiti wants residents to see forests as money growing in slow motion.

A crowd of officials, students, and environmental advocates walked from Fajuyi Pavilion to the State Secretariat, turning the annual observance into a public campaign for what the government calls a “green economy.”

Speaking for the governor, Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Habibat Adubiaro, laid out numbers that cut through the usual environmental rhetoric. Timber, she said, now delivers global returns between 10 and 20 per cent annually. Locally, she broke it down further, a teak seedling bought for under ₦200 can yield about ₦5,000 within seven years. A mahogany tree purchased at ₦500 can rise to over ₦100,000 in 15 years.

“The window to plant was yesterday. Today is the next best chance,” she said, echoing the governor’s push for mass participation.

The administration is leaning on structure, not slogans. It says Ekiti remains the only state with a formally registered private tree growers’ association, which has already planted more than one million trees.

On the enforcement side, Executive Secretary of the Forestry Commission, Sunday Adekunle, said the government has reclaimed forest zones once linked to insecurity. He noted that authorities have reopened these areas for regulated economic use, backed by new control posts in Igbara Odo, Omuo, and Efon to tackle illegal logging.

The state has also restored 250 hectares across its forest reserves and launched pilot schemes in Ilawe, Efon, and Oke Ako, where economic trees now serve as windbreakers against erosion.

Cabinet members used the event to connect forests to everyday survival. Environment Commissioner Tosin Ajisafe-Aluko described forests as the intersection of public health and income. Agriculture Commissioner Ebenezer Boluwade warned that erratic weather, driven by deforestation, is already squeezing farmers.

Industry groups, including the Forestry Association of Nigeria, pledged support, with a focus on youth education and practical restoration.

Mr Adekunle closed with a reminder that the crisis did not start today. He pointed to warnings raised at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, arguing that delayed action has deepened current risks.

Ekiti’s pitch now is simple, plant trees, grow wealth, and stabilise the future.