The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement for the North West, Hon. Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, has unveiled three initiatives aimed at tackling climate change, attracting investment and creating economic opportunities across the region’s seven states.
The initiatives—the North West Climate Academy, North West Climate Fund, and North West Climate Investment Marketplace—were announced at the maiden edition of the North West Climate Summit 2026.
Yakasai said the initiatives were designed to translate climate challenges into practical solutions through skills development, financing and investment in climate-resilient projects across Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
He identified desertification, land degradation, irregular rainfall, drought, flooding and inadequate access to reliable electricity as major challenges threatening agriculture, livelihoods, infrastructure and economic development in the region.
“The North West cannot afford to treat climate change as a distant problem,” he said, stressing that the effects were already being felt in food security, employment, public health and community stability.
According to him, the challenges also present opportunities to restore degraded land, improve water systems, modernise agriculture, expand renewable energy and attract investments capable of creating sustainable jobs.
Yakasai explained that the North West Climate Academy would equip young people and communities with practical skills through training, digital and artificial intelligence-enabled learning, innovation challenges and climate leadership development.
He said the North West Climate Fund would mobilise resources through public-private partnerships, grants, impact investment and other climate-financing mechanisms to support community resilience, climate-smart agriculture, water infrastructure, renewable energy and women-led green enterprises.
“We want climate finance to reach beyond policy documents and conference rooms,” Yakasai said, adding that the fund was intended to support communities facing environmental pressures, entrepreneurs developing practical solutions and projects capable of generating sustainable livelihoods.
On the North West Climate Investment Marketplace, he said the initiative would connect viable regional projects with domestic and international investors, development finance institutions, technology providers and climate-finance partners.
He noted that projects in solar energy, mini-grids, irrigation, agro-processing, sustainable agriculture, water resilience, recycling and afforestation required proper preparation and financial structuring to attract investors.
“Projects cannot attract investment simply because they are needed. They must be identified, properly prepared, assessed and de-risked, structured and matched with the right investors and financing partners,” he said.
Yakasai added that the marketplace would facilitate project development, investor matching and financing agreements to move initiatives from the planning stage to implementation.
“Our message to investors is clear: the North West is ready to organise its opportunities, strengthen its project pipeline and build credible partnerships for investment,” he said.
He said the regional climate agenda would bring together the seven state governments, their relevant ministries and agencies, and local government stakeholders, with support from the North West Governors’ Forum and the North West Development Commission.
According to him, the ambition is to align the development priorities of all seven states and 186 local government areas under a common framework for climate resilience, investment and implementation.
The presidential aide acknowledged the support of President Tinubu, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the North West governors, federal institutions, development partners and private-sector organisations in advancing regional development and climate action.
He emphasised that the summit’s success should be judged by concrete outcomes rather than speeches and discussions.
“The success of this summit will not be measured by the number of speeches delivered today. It will be measured by the partnerships we establish, the financing we mobilise, the projects we prepare and the lives we improve after we leave this hall,” he said.
Yakasai urged governments, financial institutions, development partners, businesses and community leaders to work together to protect the environment, strengthen resilience and create new economic opportunities for the people of the North West.
He said sustained collaboration and investment would be essential to transforming the region’s climate challenges into opportunities for resilience and prosperity.