The Federal Government has finalized plans to relocate the Operational Headquarters of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) from Abuja to the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) Office in Kano. This move aims to enhance operational efficiency and align with the President's Renewed Hope Agenda.
Background of the Great Green Wall Programme
The NAGGW Programme is an African Union initiative involving over eleven member states. It is designed to combat desertification, land degradation, and the adverse effects of climate change in the Sahel-Sahara region. In Nigeria, the programme targets frontline states including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.
Minister's Statement
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, announced the relocation in a statement in Abuja. He emphasized that the strategic move is driven by the Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at significantly improving the Agency's effectiveness in implementing the Great Green Wall Programme across Nigeria's frontline states. The Minister also disclosed that the Agency's mandate includes establishing a 15km by 1,500km Green Wall belt to enhance environmental sustainability, mitigate climate change, improve food security, and alleviate rural poverty.
Achievements Since Inception
According to Lawal, since the programme began in 2013 and was upgraded to a full Agency in 2015, significant achievements have been recorded. These include the establishment of over 100 shelterbelts, construction of about 159 solar and wind-powered boreholes to improve water security, engagement of 600 youths as forest guards, and creation of 240 hectares of community orchards and woodlots to boost household income and reduce poverty.
Reasons for Relocation
The Minister stated that the relocation would address longstanding challenges associated with operating from a temporary rented office in Abuja, which is far from the project sites in the far North. By moving to a permanent location in Kano, a central hub within the operational zone, the Agency will achieve better monitoring, stronger coordination with state governments, local authorities, and communities, and more efficient service delivery.
Existing Infrastructure in Kano
Kano already hosts the existing Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU), a Federal facility established in 1988. The APCU office complex, which has been underutilized since the World Bank Arid Zone Afforestation Programme ended in 1996, now provides suitable and permanent accommodation for the Agency.
Government Policy Alignment
Lawal emphasized that this decision reflects the Federal Government's policy, under the President's directive, of locating agencies closer to their areas of operation to enhance efficiency and bring governance closer to the people. The Environment Minister expressed confidence that this relocation, as a key priority of the current administration, will significantly strengthen the implementation of this critical environmental intervention for the benefit of millions of Nigerians in the affected regions.
