FG Moves to Empower Women in Climate Fight through Green Women Platform
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to placing Nigerian women at the forefront of climate action through the Green Women Platform (GWP).
GWP is a flagship initiative designed to drive women-led environmental restoration, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods across the country.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, stated this while delivering a keynote address on Tuesday at the “Green Women Platform Validation Workshop”, in Abuja.
He noted that the initiative, which was officially launched by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during the 9th Ordinary Session of the Pan-African Great Green Wall (PAGGW) Council of Ministers, represents a bold step toward ensuring women’s active participation in environmental governance and climate resilience.
He said GWP will provide a space for Nigerian women to take ownership of solutions affecting their lives, families, and communities, while also opening doors to economic opportunities in renewable energy, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, and green enterprises.
“Through this platform, women will not only have a voice in decision-making on land use, natural resources, and climate action, but will also gain access to economic opportunities that lift households and communities out of vulnerability,” Lawal said. “They are not victims of climate change but leaders of climate solutions.”
Lawal further emphasized that GWP aligns with global development priorities, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said it advances Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 15 (Life on Land), and Goal 1 (No Poverty) by mobilizing women as key agents of change.
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The Director General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Saleh Abubakar, in his welcome address, described GWP as a defining innovation of the Pan-African Great Green Wall that recognizes women not merely as beneficiaries of environmental policies but as “architects of transformation” within their communities.
He noted that women have long stood as custodians of the land, sustaining families and local economies even in the face of climate-induced hardship. The validation workshop, he said, marks a milestone in giving their voices, experiences, and ingenuity a formal structure within Nigeria’s climate action framework.
Dr. Abubakar explained that the workshop’s purpose goes beyond ceremonial validation—it aims to finalize the national framework of the GWP, establish clear governance structures, and design a two-year action plan to translate vision into tangible results.
Through this process, he added, stakeholders are laying the foundation for an inclusive national movement that will restore degraded lands, create new economic opportunities, and deepen women’s leadership in environmental stewardship.
Reaffirming the Agency’s commitment to the Green Women Platform, the Director General expressed optimism that the initiative would become a model for empowering rural women and youth to lead local climate solutions.
“This workshop is not just about validation,” he emphasized, “but about vision—one where women stand at the heart of our nation’s environmental renewal and our collective quest for a greener, more sustainable Nigeria.”
In his goodwill message, the representative of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall (PAGGW) conveyed the appreciation of the Executive Secretary, Mr. Almoustapha Garba, to the Federal Government of Nigeria for its sustained leadership and commitment to the continental initiative.
According to him, GWP, first conceived in 2018, was designed to consolidate and harmonize women’s contributions across the Sahel, ensuring that their voices influence policies, their rights are protected, and their innovations are recognized in environmental governance.
He emphasized that the establishment of national chapters of the GWP—beginning with countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mali, and Mauritania—was a crucial step in institutionalizing women’s participation in land restoration and climate adaptation.7
