Presidency targets ₦20bn for North West climate fund, academy

The Presidency on Tuesday launched a North West Climate Fund, a climate academy and an investment marketplace at a summit in Abuja, with a target of about ₦20 billion over the next four years to tackle flooding, drought and other climate pressures in the region.

Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-West), told State House correspondents the money would be raised for the region and channelled through his office.

"We're looking at the region of N20bn in the next four years," he said, adding that the aim was to ease climate problems that he said were affecting the whole world.

The summit was organised with the Northern Governors' Forum, the North West Governors' Forum and the North West Development Commission. Representatives of all seven states in the region — Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara — attended.

What the three pillars do

Yakasai said the initiative rests on three parts. The marketplace lets states and local governments list their climate programmes so development partners, financial institutions and investors can see them and consider funding.

The academy is expected to train 10,000 young people across the North West in climate resilience and related skills. Its lead consultant, Dr Mea Boykins, said it was still in its early stages and hoped to admit its first students within nine months, with partners including the Lagos Business School and the Institute of Global Negotiators in Switzerland.

The fund will support work on flooding, drought, renewable energy and other climate challenges. According to the summit brochure, it will seek grants, impact capital and carbon finance, including for women-led green enterprises.

Kama Nkemkanma, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change, who represented Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, said climate change now affects food security, water, infrastructure and community stability. He said preventing disasters costs less than rebuilding after them, and that the fund must earn trust through transparent project selection and accountable management.

Vice President Kashim Shettima was represented by Mariam Masha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Regional Development Programmes.

Why it matters

The North West is one of Nigeria's hardest-hit regions. The 2026 Annual Flood Outlook, presented in April by the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, listed 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory at high risk, with 14,118 communities in 266 local government areas affected. Six of the seven North West states — Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara — were named high-risk.

For ordinary residents, that means repeated flooding of farms and homes, dry spells that hurt harvests, and pressure that pushes people to migrate. A regional fund, if delivered, could mean money for flood defences, water security and green jobs for young people.

Yakasai said the summit's outcomes would be taken to the coming United Nations climate change summit, where the region hopes to match its plans with international financing.

What happens next: The academy aims to start admitting students within nine months, while organisers work to raise the ₦20 billion and attract investors to the projects listed on the marketplace.