Buhari appoints Dahiru as pioneer DG of climate change council

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Salisu Dahiru as the pioneer director general (DG) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the national council on climate change.

This comes months after the president, as a way of solidifying Nigeria’s pledges and its commitments to the Paris agreement, signed the climate change act.

As part of the agenda for Nigeria to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, Buhari expects the new DG to drive the implementation of the climate change act and the national climate change action plan, including the development of a carbon market framework and a national adaptation plan.

These implementations are expected to be in sync with the aspirations enshrined in the nationally determined contributions (NDC).

Until his appointment, Salisu was the national project coordinator for the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL) project, both financed by the World Bank.

He has been Nigeria’s lead negotiator for the Agriculture, Forest, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The new DG holds a B.Sc. in botany, an M.Sc. in cytogenetics & plant breeding, and a PhD in environmental resources management. He has about thirty-seven years of cognate experience in environmental management, sustainable development, and academia, of which over fourteen years were in climate change policy, programs, and projects at national and international levels.

He also pioneered and led Nigeria’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Programme.

His vast experience in complex project planning and management and resource mobilisation is expected to aid in the smooth implementation of the national climate change agenda.

The appointment takes effect from July 25.