Nigeria’s journey toward a green economy transition received a strategic boost last week as the nation’s foremost environmental regulator moved to embrace a new philosophy of governance.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), mandated to enforce environmental laws across the country, has agreed to a strategic partnership with the Africa Green Economy and Sustainability Institute (AGESI).
The collaboration signals a pivotal policy shift: complementing traditional enforcement with active empowerment and support for businesses.
The agreement was solidified during a courtesy visit by Dr Eugene O. Itua, Executive Director of AGESI, to Prof Innocent Barikor, the Director-General of NESREA, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
The core focus of the joint action is to promote voluntary compliance, reduce regulatory friction, and equip the private sector with the tools needed to meet environmental standards through innovation. Both leaders recognized that, for Nigeria to achieve its sustainability goals, compliance must be enabled, not just enforced.
Itua framed the engagement as a moment of redefining governance.
“This engagement marks a pivotal step toward redefining environmental governance in Nigeria,” said Itua. “By complementing enforcement with empowerment, NESREA can unlock new pathways for compliance, innovation, and sustainable development—anchored in the principles of a thriving green economy.”
Barikor confirmed that this new approach aligns perfectly with NESREA’s long-term mandate and vision.
“Promoting voluntary compliance is not only consistent with our mandate, it is essential to building trust, reducing enforcement burdens, and enabling sustainable growth,” said the NESREA director-general.
He added that the agency is committed to working with credible partners like AGESI to advance Nigeria’s environmental governance and accelerate our transition to a green economy.
“We welcome this strategic engagement with AGESI as a timely and forward-looking initiative,” said NESREA director-general.
Barikor noted that NESREA “is committed to working with credible partners like AGESI to advance Nigeria’s environmental governance and accelerate our transition to a green economy”.
The partnership is expected to create a more supportive regulatory environment. Instead of facing immediate punitive action, businesses that partner with AGESI may receive guidance and technical assistance to achieve compliance, fostering an atmosphere where meeting environmental standards is viewed as a competitive advantage rather than a costly burden.
This shared vision between the regulator (NESREA) and the development institute (AGESI) underscores a unified goal: to build a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Nigeria where environmental standards are not just monitored, but actively made achievable.
