The Federal Government has relocated the operational headquarters of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) from Abuja to Kano State in a strategic move aimed at strengthening climate action and improving programme delivery across northern Nigeria.
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, announced that the agency will now operate from the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) office in Kano, describing the decision as a major step toward enhancing operational efficiency under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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Lawal said the relocation would bring the agency closer to its core areas of intervention, enabling better coordination with frontline states affected by desertification and climate change. He noted that operating from Abuja had posed logistical challenges, given the distance from project sites concentrated in the far North.
“The move to Kano, which is centrally located within the operational zone, will significantly improve monitoring, strengthen collaboration with state governments and local communities, and ensure more effective service delivery,” the minister said.
The Great Green Wall Programme is a flagship African Union initiative involving more than 11 countries, designed to combat desertification, restore degraded land, and mitigate the impacts of climate change across the Sahel-Sahara region.
In Nigeria, the programme targets 11 frontline states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara—where environmental degradation continues to threaten livelihoods, food security, and ecosystem stability.
According to the minister, the agency is mandated to establish a 15-kilometre-wide and 1,500-kilometre-long green belt aimed at restoring ecosystems, enhancing agricultural productivity, and reducing rural poverty.
Since its establishment in 2013 and subsequent upgrade to a full-fledged agency in 2015, NAGGW has recorded notable achievements. These include the development of over 100 shelterbelts, installation of 159 solar- and wind-powered boreholes to improve water access, engagement of 600 youths as forest guards, and establishment of 240 hectares of community orchards and woodlots.
Lawal highlighted that the Kano facility offers a permanent and more suitable base for the agency, noting that the APCU complex—established in 1988—had been underutilised following the end of the World Bank-supported Arid Zone Afforestation Programme in 1996.
He further explained that the relocation aligns with a broader federal policy aimed at positioning government institutions closer to their areas of impact, thereby promoting efficiency and inclusiveness in governance.
Climate and environmental experts say the decision could significantly accelerate land restoration efforts in northern Nigeria, where desert encroachment, erratic rainfall, and land degradation continue to pose serious challenges to agriculture and rural livelihoods.
The minister expressed confidence that the move will reinvigorate the Great Green Wall initiative in Nigeria, delivering long-term environmental and socio-economic benefits to millions of people living in vulnerable communities.
