FG Relocates Great Green Wall Agency Headquarters to Kano to Boost Operations
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 efficiency in environmental programme delivery across Nigeria’s northern belt.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, announced the decision, explaining that the relocation aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is intended to strengthen the implementation of the Great Green Wall initiative across frontline states.
The programme, an African Union initiative involving more than 11 member states, is designed to combat desertification, land degradation, and the impacts of climate change across the Sahel-Sahara region.
In Nigeria, the initiative covers 11 frontline states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.
According to the minister, the agency’s mandate includes establishing a 15km by 1,500km green belt aimed at promoting environmental sustainability, improving food security, mitigating climate change, and reducing rural poverty.
He noted that since its establishment as a programme in 2013 and upgrade to a full agency in 2015, key achievements have included the establishment of over 100 shelterbelts, construction of about 159 solar and wind-powered boreholes, engagement of 600 youth as forest guards, and the creation of 240 hectares of community orchards and woodlots.
The minister said the relocation will address long-standing operational challenges linked to running the agency from a temporary office in Abuja, far from project locations in the northern region.
He explained that moving the headquarters to Kano—within the core operational zone—will improve monitoring, strengthen coordination with state governments and local communities, and enhance service delivery.
The Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) in Kano, established in 1988, will now host the agency. The facility, which had been underutilised since the end of the World Bank-supported Arid Zone Afforestation Programme in 1996, is expected to provide a permanent and strategic base for operations.
The minister added that the decision reflects the federal government’s broader policy of siting agencies closer to their operational environments to improve efficiency and governance.
He expressed confidence that the relocation would significantly enhance the implementation of the Great Green Wall programme and deliver greater environmental and socio-economic benefits to affected communities across northern Nigeria.
