The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to placing Nigerian women at the forefront of climate action through the Green Women Platform (GWP) initiative.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the Validation Workshop of the Green Women Platform, themed “Ensuring Women’s Full and Effective Participation and Equal Opportunities for Successful Great Green Wall Initiative Implementation.”
The GWP is a flagship programme designed to promote women-led environmental restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods across the country.
Lawal, who was represented by Mrs. Agnes Aneke, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the ministry, said the platform would empower Nigerian women to take ownership of climate and environmental solutions affecting their lives, families, and communities.
“This moment is significant for Nigeria and the Pan-African Great Green Wall Initiative as we move from concept to action in ensuring that women are placed at the centre of environmental restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable development,” he said.
“Through this platform, women will not only have a voice in governance and decision-making around land use, natural resources, and climate action, but they will also gain access to economic opportunities in areas such as reforestation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and green enterprises.”
He added that the initiative would ensure women remain custodians of biodiversity and indigenous knowledge, passing sustainable practices to future generations.
The minister noted that Nigeria had continued to demonstrate leadership within the Great Green Wall Initiative, restoring degraded lands and promoting sustainable livelihoods — programmes that have become models for replication across Africa.
He emphasized that the Green Women Platform aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Goal 13 (Climate Action).
“By mobilising women as leaders in adaptation and resilience, we are affirming that Nigerian women are not victims of climate change but leaders of climate solutions.
They are not passive beneficiaries, but innovators and decision-makers — not on the sidelines, but at the very centre of the Great Green Wall,” he said.
Lawal described the Green Women Platform as a unique innovation of the Pan-African Great Green Wall initiative, designed to position women at the heart of the fight against desertification, climate change, and land degradation while improving livelihoods.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Mahmud Kambari, represented also by Mrs. Aneke, noted that women bear the greatest burden of environmental degradation but remain the strongest agents of resilience and adaptation.
“By creating the Green Women Platform, Nigeria is aligning with the regional vision of the Pan-African Great Green Wall,” Kambari said.
“This initiative demonstrates our resolve to mainstream gender equality into the Great Green Wall Programme and ensure that women are not left behind in implementing our national environmental and climate commitments.”
He explained that the workshop would validate the platform’s structural framework, adopt a national governance arrangement, and agree on a two-year action plan.
“These outcomes will ensure that women are empowered as beneficiaries and full partners in decision-making, resource mobilization, and implementation,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall, Mr. Almoustapha Garba, commended the Federal Government for its commitment to implementing the Great Green Wall Initiative.
“The platform must provide guidance, serve as an interface, and represent the many women who do not have access to decision-making spheres,” Garba said.
“It should act as an observatory of women’s rights within communities and ensure their full and effective participation in local governance and access to natural resources.”
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Mr. Saleh Abubakar, noted that women in Nigeria are not only custodians of the land but also agents of transformation in their communities.
“We must establish a strong and inclusive platform that empowers Nigerian women to build resilience, restore degraded lands, and foster sustainable livelihoods,” Abubakar said.
