Chuks Oyema-Aziken
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a work plan for the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC).
The approval was conveyed over the weekend while chairing the inaugural meeting of the council with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as vice chairman and the director-general of NCCC, Dr. Salisu Dahiru, as secretary, among other members.
Meanwhile, approval has come from the President for the deployment of staff from key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to the council to ensure its effective take-off.
Responding to several requests by the director-general of the council on ensuring a smooth take-off and operationalisation of the council, Buhari approved the proposed institutional arrangement (organogramm) for the council as presented.
Also, he approved the operationalisation of the office space to provide a conducive working environment for the council and the development of the Open Market Carbon Trading Framework and Infrastructure (Phase I) in collaboration with M/S Rosehill Group Limited.
At the meeting, the president approved the subsuming of the energy transition plan and office into the NCCC to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the initiative under the Climate Change Act 2021.
Also, the president endorsed the council as the designated national authority for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the DG, NCCC as the UNFCCC national focal point, in line with the Climate Change Act 2021.
Commending the management for their dedication to duty, the president urged the team to work diligently toward finalising the National Climate Action Plan.
He further noted that the plan would provide a sustainable framework for all climate-related activities in Nigeria and also provide the surest tool for engagement with the global community.
The president recalled that he had assented to the Bill setting up the National Council on Climate Change, which was followed by the appointment of the director-general and subsequent inauguration of the council on September 28, 2022.
The Minister of Environment, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi said with the unflinching support of the president, Nigeria is set to take the lead on climate change issues, biodiversity, wildlife conservation and energy transition plan implementation in Africa in line with her commitments under the UNFCCC.
He thanked the president for his strong leadership of the Pan Africa Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW), the Sahel and Sahara Initiative, Climate Commission of the Sahel Region (CCSR) and the Lake Chad Basin Development Authority.
A statement by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said Dahiru, the director-general of the council, while presenting the first memorandum of the agency that is leading Nigeria’s response to climate change apprised members on the need to operationalise the body.
According to him, since the inauguration of the 23-member council by the president, the secretariat developed a draft institutional arrangement (organogramme) for the council, proposed vision and mission of the council, inclusion of the council in the 2023 National Budget and harmonised Nigeria’s response to climate change for COP27.
Among other actions, Dahiru said they have held discussions with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Ltd (INFRACORP), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and other relevant partners to ensure success.
‘‘The council has developed a proposed institutional organogramme with the Director-General as the head/CEO of the secretariat and reports to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – as the chairman of the council – and six directorates and different divisions for effective implementation of its mandates,’’ he said.
The Pioneer Director-General, NCCC, Dr. Dahiru had a successful story during his tenure as National Project Coordinator for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) partly financed by the World Bank.
At NEWMAP, he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating the implementation of erosion control projects in the 23 NEWMAP participating states across Nigeria.
The eight-year project initiated in 2012 and aimed at addressing the gully erosion crisis in southern Nigeria and land degradation in northern Nigeria was said to have recorded “much success”.
According to the World Bank, it is one environment project in West Africa that can be used as an example of “a success story.”
Dahiru also served as the national project coordinator for Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL).
Dahiru was once Nigeria’s lead negotiator for the Agriculture, Forest and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In 1992, he worked as the principal forestry officer and later as chief forestry officer responsible for forest resources management and administration, and the coordination of Nigeria’s Accelerated Industrial Crops Production Programme.
In 1998, he was promoted to the position of assistant director, parks and recreation, where he was responsible for the development and management of the Abuja parks.
He joined the federal ministry of environment as an assistant director forestry, in 2006, where he served as the desk officer for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
In 2010, he was appointed the national coordinator, Reducing Emission for Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), where he worked as the team lead for mainstreaming of REDD+ into the country’s national development agenda.
In 2013, while still coordinating the REDD+ programme, he was promoted to the director of forestry and head, federal department of forestry.
