By Abdullahi Lukman
The Nigerian Government on Wednesday announced the relocation of the operational headquarters of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) from federal capital city, Abuja, to Kano in the North West region.
Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who announced the relocation, described it as a strategic decision under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to enhance the agency’s operational efficiency in the states most affected by desertification and land degradation.
He said the relocation was aimed at improving the implementation of environmental restoration and climate resilience projects across Northern Nigeria.
Malam Lawal said the transfer of the agency’s headquarters to Kano, a key centre within its operational zone, would strengthen project monitoring, improve coordination with state governments and local communities, and ensure more effective service delivery.
The Great Green Wall Programme, an African Union initiative involving more than 11 countries, seeks to combat desertification, land degradation and the impacts of climate change across the Sahel-Sahara region. In Nigeria, the programme covers Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states.
According to the minister, the agency is mandated to establish a 15-kilometre-wide and 1,500-kilometre-long green belt to promote environmental sustainability, improve food security and reduce rural poverty.
He noted that since the programme was launched in 2013 and upgraded to a full agency in 2015, it has established more than 100 shelterbelts, constructed 159 solar and wind-powered boreholes, engaged 600 youths as forest guards, and developed 240 hectares of community orchards and woodlots.
Lawal said the relocation would address challenges associated with operating from a rented office in Abuja, which is located far from the agency’s major project sites in northern Nigeria.
He added that Kano was chosen because it hosts the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU), a federal facility established in 1988, which now provides a permanent operational base for the agency.
The minister said the move reflects the Federal Government’s policy of locating agencies closer to their areas of operation to improve efficiency and bring governance closer to the people.
He expressed confidence that the relocation would strengthen the implementation of the Great Green Wall Programme and deliver greater environmental and economic benefits to millions of people living in the affected states.
