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, in a strategic move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s response to desertification and accelerating environmental restoration across the North.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who said the decision aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises efficiency in service delivery and closer alignment of federal institutions with their operational environments.
According to the minister, relocating the agency to Kano will significantly improve coordination, monitoring, and implementation of projects under the Great Green Wall programme, particularly in communities most affected by land degradation and climate stress.
The National Agency for the Great Green Wall serves as Nigeria’s implementing body for the African Union-backed initiative spanning over 11 countries across the Sahel region, designed to combat desertification, restore degraded land, and strengthen climate resilience.
In Nigeria, the programme targets eleven frontline states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara—areas increasingly vulnerable to advancing desert conditions, shrinking arable land, and rural livelihood pressures.
Officials said the relocation will also reposition the agency within the Afforestation Programme Coordinating Unit (APCU) complex in Kano, a federal facility originally established in 1988 for environmental restoration projects and largely underutilised since the end of earlier donor-supported interventions in the 1990s.
The government explained that operating from Abuja had created logistical and administrative distance from field operations, limiting real-time supervision and coordination of projects in the frontline states.
With the new arrangement, authorities expect faster response times, stronger collaboration with state governments and local communities, and improved oversight of ongoing afforestation and land recovery initiatives.
Since its establishment in 2013 and subsequent upgrade to a full agency in 2015, the NAGGW has recorded several interventions, including the development of more than 100 shelterbelts and the installation of about 159 solar and wind-powered boreholes to support water access in rural communities.
The minister stressed that the relocation is part of a broader government strategy to decentralise key institutions and enhance performance by positioning agencies closer to their areas of responsibility.
He expressed confidence that the move will reinvigorate Nigeria’s participation in the Great Green Wall initiative and strengthen efforts to combat desertification, improve food security, and reduce rural poverty across the Sahel corridor.
Environmental stakeholders are expected to closely watch the implementation phase, as the relocation signals a renewed push to translate policy commitments into measurable ecological impact in northern Nigeria.
