The Federal Government has approved the relocation of the Operational Headquarters of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) from Abuja to Kano State as part of efforts to improve the agency’s effectiveness in addressing desertification, land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria.
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, announced the decision on Wednesday, describing it as a strategic move under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at bringing government institutions closer to their areas of operation.
According to the minister, the agency’s new operational headquarters will be located at the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) office in Kano, a Federal Government facility established in 1988.
Lawal said the relocation is expected to improve coordination, monitoring and implementation of projects across the agency’s operational zone.
“The strategic move is aimed at significantly improving the Agency’s effectiveness in implementing the Great Green Wall Programme across Nigeria’s frontline states,” he said.
The Great Green Wall Programme is an initiative of the African Union involving more than 11 countries and designed to combat desertification, land degradation and the effects of climate change across the Sahel-Sahara region.
In Nigeria, the programme covers 11 frontline states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.
The minister noted that operating from Abuja had posed challenges because the agency’s core activities are concentrated in northern states where the programme is being implemented.
“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,” Lawal stated.
He explained that the APCU complex in Kano provides a permanent base for the agency and would help address challenges associated with operating from a temporary rented office in Abuja.
Lawal added that the decision reflects the Federal Government’s policy of positioning agencies closer to their operational areas to enhance efficiency and bring governance nearer to the people.
He expressed confidence that the relocation would strengthen implementation of the Great Green Wall Programme and improve service delivery to communities across northern Nigeria.
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