APC Folks: Let’s Get Real on Climate Change with Targeted Action!
By: Abudu Olalekan
Friday morning in Abuja. Another government meeting, you might think. But this one was different.
The APC Climate Change Network basically told their own party: enough talk, show us the action. And they weren’t being polite about it.
Dr. Greg Odogwu, the network’s national coordinator, stood up at what they called their inaugural Climate Policy Dialogue and laid it bare. No sugar-coating. Nigeria needs sector-specific climate solutions, and it needs them yesterday. The fancy theme was “Exploring Options for Electoral Capture of Green Voters,” but really, it was about survival.
Here’s the thing. Nigeria’s drowning in floods one season, dying of drought the next. Farmers can’t predict anything anymore. Yet political parties are still treating climate change like it’s some foreign concept that doesn’t affect votes. Wrong move.
Reportersroom gathered that the ACCN isn’t just complaining though. They’re coming with solutions. Real ones.
“Teach our party members how to build dams to stop floods,” Odogwu said. Simple, right? Not “let’s have another conference about flooding.” Build. The. Dams. He talked about climate-smart farming, renewable energy storage, clean energy adoption. Practical stuff that actually makes sense.
The network’s got guts too. They’re planning to slam 95 recommendations – they’re calling it the “95 Theses” – on the APC leadership’s desk. Basically forcing the party to constitutionally recognize climate action. Bold? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.
Dr. Murtala Mohammed, an environmental consultant who gave the keynote, didn’t hold back either. “Climate change isn’t abstract discussion anymore,” he said. Translation: people are suffering, and politicians need to wake up.
Mohammed laid out three pathways. First, embed green growth into party manifestos. Not as footnotes – as real policy. He pointed to Lagos’s resilience strategy. If Lagos can do it, why can’t everywhere else? Second, mobilize the youth, women, rural communities. These aren’t just victims; they’re the solution army waiting to be deployed. Third, build credibility for disruptive policies. Partner with whoever has the resources – World Bank, UNEP, African Development Bank. Pride won’t solve flooding.
One interesting bit: Mohammed declared he’s “100 percent against GMOs” while pushing for climate-smart agriculture. That’s gonna ruffle some feathers in agricultural circles.
Hamzat Lawal from Connected Development brought up something politicians understand – votes. Millions of green voters, he called them. Rural farmers whose crops are failing. Young people who’ll inherit this mess. Communities watching their homes wash away. They vote too. And come 2027, they’ll remember who actually did something versus who just talked.
The network claims it was “birthed out of necessity.” No kidding. When your country’s agricultural zones are becoming deserts and your coastal cities are sinking, necessity is putting it mildly.
What’s refreshing here is the directness. No fancy diplomatic language. Just “teach us to produce food in a climate-smart way.” Store it efficiently. Use clean energy. Prepare the next generation for a net-zero future. Concrete actions, not abstract concepts.
The APC now has a choice. They can treat this like another report to file away, or they can actually listen. The network isn’t asking for the moon. They’re asking for dams, sustainable farming techniques, renewable energy systems. Things other countries figured out years ago.
Will the party establishment take these 95 recommendations seriously? Will they create that constitutional climate wing? Time will tell. But one thing’s clear – the excuse of “we didn’t know” is off the table.
The climate crisis isn’t waiting for Nigeria’s politicians to catch up. Neither are the voters, apparently. And maybe that’s what’ll finally force real action. Not the floods or droughts, but the fear of losing elections.
Politics and survival, finally on the same page. About time.
