Kaduna Stakeholders, FCDO-PACE Validate Climate Governance Report

By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna

Stakeholders from across Kaduna State, including government ministries, civil society organisations, federal institutions, and the media, gathered in Zaria for a validation workshop on climate governance. 

The event was convened to review and validate a report outlining key blockages and issues impacting climate policy implementation in the state.

The workshop was organised by the Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement (PACE), a programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in collaboration with the Kaduna State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

In her keynote remarks, Mrs. Linda Yakubu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, expressed deep appreciation to the PACE Programme for its consistent support.

“Since last month, PACE has been supporting us without pause. From helping us develop our climate policy to now working on an implementation framework, they’ve been with us every step of the way,” she stated.

Yakubu stressed that Kaduna State was determined to break the cycle of policies being developed and shelved. With PACE’s support, the Ministry is focused on translating policy into tangible action, guided by a practical, inclusive framework.

She emphasized the importance of the validation process, describing the participants as “carefully selected” based on their active role in earlier issue-based engagements.

“The priority areas we’re discussing are not abstract they directly reflect the urgent climate challenges we face as a state. That’s why this process is critical, let us contribute openly. If we don’t protect our environment, it may become uninhabitable,” she said.

Also speaking at the workshop, Ashiru Sani, FCDO-PACE State Team Lead, outlined the rationale behind the issue-based work that led to the report.

“We started asking: beyond annual workplans and budgets, how do we respond directly to the issues that communities themselves identify? That’s how the issue-based approach was born,” he explained.

Sani recalled previous attempts to institutionalize this approach under earlier programmes such as PERL in 2016, noting that while it didn’t succeed then, FCDO is now more committed than ever to building inclusive and responsive governance processes.

A key finding from the report, he shared, is the widespread challenge of deforestation, largely driven by charcoal and firewood use, especially in rural communities where affordable alternatives are scarce.

“If people are spending ₦10 on charcoal, they’ll only switch when an alternative costs ₦5 or less. This is not about enforcement, it’s about accessible, affordable options.

“That’s the real challenge: designing solutions people can actually adopt,” Sani said.

He called for broad coalitions that include producers, sellers, rural users, and policy actors to collaboratively identify workable interventions.

“The goal is a feedback loop where citizens are not just demanding but co-creating solutions. That’s when government becomes more strategic, and citizens feel empowered,” he concluded.

The validation workshop marks a major step toward finalizing Kaduna’s climate policy implementation framework. 

Once completed, it is expected to serve as a model for integrating citizen voices, local realities, and evidence-based strategies into climate governance at the state level.