By Charles Pemu 
Calls for Tougher Laws, Unveils ₦250bn Green Bond Plan to Fight Climate Crisis
ABUJA — Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Malam Balarabe Lawal, has sounded the alarm on the country’s growing environmental crisis, warning that years of neglect and weak laws are endangering public health, food security, and national development.
At a press briefing in Abuja, Lawal decried the low priority given to environmental issues, citing the recent killing of two endangered elephants in Borno as a grim example of legal and institutional failure. “Environmental crimes are not taken seriously in this country. We must strengthen our laws to treat them with the urgency they deserve,” he said.
Lawal urged President Tinubu to take personal leadership in environmental reforms, emphasizing that national survival depends on it. “The environment needs your voice, Mr. President,” he stated.
In a bold move to address funding shortfalls, the minister announced a ₦250 billion expansion of Nigeria’s green bond programme — a major step toward financing clean energy and climate-resilient infrastructure.
The funds, he said, will support solar power in schools and hospitals, water access, e-mobility projects, and reforestation efforts, including planting 20 million trees in the North and restoring oil-damaged mangroves in the Niger Delta.
Lawal also celebrated the long-awaited Nigeria-Cameroon forest conservation agreement, describing it as a milestone in cross-border environmental protection.
“The environment is everyone’s business. We cannot afford to ignore it any longer,” he concluded.