FG Relocates Great Green Wall Agency Headquarters to Kano

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 move aimed at improving the agency’s effectiveness in combating desertification and environmental degradation across northern Nigeria.

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, announced the relocation on Tuesday, describing it as a strategic decision aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and designed to enhance the implementation of the Great Green Wall Programme in the country’s frontline states.

According to the minister, the agency will now operate from the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) office in Kano, placing it closer to the areas where most of its projects are executed.

The Great Green Wall Programme is an African Union initiative involving more than 11 countries and is focused on tackling desertification, land degradation and the impacts of climate change across the Sahel-Sahara region.

In Nigeria, the programme covers 11 frontline states including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

Lawal said the agency is mandated to establish a 15-kilometre-wide and 1,500-kilometre-long green belt across northern Nigeria to improve environmental sustainability, enhance food security, mitigate climate change and reduce rural poverty.

He noted that since its establishment in 2013 and subsequent elevation to a full agency in 2015, the programme has recorded significant achievements. These include the creation of more than 100 shelterbelts, construction of about 159 solar and wind-powered boreholes, engagement of 600 youth forest guards and the development of 240 hectares of community orchards and woodlots.

The minister explained that operating from Abuja had posed logistical challenges because of the distance from project locations. He said relocating the headquarters to Kano would improve project monitoring, strengthen collaboration with state governments and local communities, and enhance service delivery.

He added that the APCU complex in Kano, a federal facility established in 1988, provides a permanent and suitable operational base for the agency after years of operating from a rented office in Abuja.

According to the ministry, the relocation is part of a broader government policy aimed at positioning agencies closer to their operational zones in order to improve efficiency and bring governance closer to citizens.

The Federal Government expressed confidence that the move would strengthen the implementation of environmental restoration projects and deliver greater benefits to communities affected by desertification and climate-related challenges across northern Nigeria.