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FG Advises States on Need to Establish Climate Change Department to Avert Nationwide Environmental Disaster

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FG Advises States on Need to Establish Climate Change Department to Avert Nationwide Environmental Disaster

By: Michael Mike

All states in the country have been advised to establish a climate change department with the task of regularly report climate action within their state for proper national reporting on issues of climate change and to avert major environmental disaster in the country.

The advice was given by the Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako during the launch at the weekend in Abuja of the report on “Mapping Climate Change Impact, Policy and Action at the Sub-national level in Nigeria.”

Salako while stating that the Nigerian government is taking measures to address the challenges of climate change in the country, on the project launch revealed that the steps are reflected in Policy, Legal, Institutional Programme, and Projects initiatives.

The Minister explained that the project also provides the opportunity to localize the understanding of climate impacts specific to different regions and to identify the unique challenges faced by different sub-national entities.

He noted that: “This project is crucial for understanding local challenges, formulating effective policies, and coordinating climate action, while facilitating coordination and collaboration among various stakeholders at the sub-national level, it will help tailor-made policymaking and action plans with the specific needs and vulnerabilities of each State.”

Salako said the Ministry of Environment was also taking steps to create awareness of climate action at sub-national levels in Nigeria by ensuring improved climate action and resilience among the 36 states.

He explained that at the Federal level, the setting up of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change has mandated the Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to have Climate Change Desks/Units/Departments to ensure the mainstreaming of climate change in their sectoral development activities and have regular meetings on National Climate Actions.

The President Society for Planet Prosperity, a non governmental organisation in Nigeria, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, in his remarks during the launch, said that the report will assist states to generate income, access carbon finance and build climate resilience.

He lamented that the level of awareness of climate change in the 36 states across the country is very poor.

Okereke explained that Society for Planet Prosperity has been working with the Federal Minister of Environment, specifically the department for climate change, and the Nigerian governors forum to do a mapping to understand the level of climate awareness in the 36 states of the country including the FCT.

He said: “We also know that the federal government has put in place a number of major institutions and policies for climate action, but you don’t take climate change action at the federal level whether you’re planting forests, whether you’re doing erosion control, it has to happen at a state owned level, etc but everybody knows we do not know the state of climate action in the sub national level this is a major gap that has been present for the past 12 years since action on climate change in Nigeria.

“So we decided to tackle this gap by finding out what states are doing on climate change.” He

He noted that only eight states have climate policies out of the 36 states in Nigeria while 7 have a climate change action plans, while 12 states have captured climate change in their states budget.

He said the report shows that states need to put in action to drive climate change action policy plans, while adding that the report will be forwarded to the states government across the country to help them develop policy and plans on climate change resilience.

Chairman Security and Special Interventions and Climate Change, North East Development Commission, Sam Onuigbo, on his part urged the Governors and the Local Government Chairmen to take the threats posed by climate change very seriously to avert major environmental disaster.

He advised that Governors and the Local Government Chairmen must make adequate budgetary provisions for improved climate change action and resilience.

Onuigbo said: “Mapping Climate Change Impact, Policy and Action in Nigeria’s project aims to map the impact of climate change in the 36 states, and 774 local government areas to analyse the existing policies and actions in these sub-nationals, and identify the support needs of these sub-nationals to effectively domesticate climate change policies to attract climate fund and investments.”

The Niger state Governor, Mr Mohammed Baggo said that the mapping of climate impacts, policy, and actions at the subnational level is crucial in formulating effective strategies to combat climate change.

He said this will allow state governments to understand vulnerabilities, identify areas that require immediate attention, and develop tailored policies and action plans.

The report was launched by a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria, Society for Planet and Prosperity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The report is expected to help citizens, especially states and local governments, understand that climate change is a major developmental challenge facing Nigeria and how to address its impact.

FG Advises States on Need to Establish Climate Change Department to Avert Nationwide Environmental Disaster

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

By: Michael Mike

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.

The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.

In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.

The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

By: Michael Mike

The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.

A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.

“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”

According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.

The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.

Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People


…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp

By: Michael Mike

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.

“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.

“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”

Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.

“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”

She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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