ACReSAL Project will Emancipate and Bring Succour to the Downtrodden in Nigeria – National Project Coordinator

The Newly appointed National Project Coordinator (NPC) of the Agro-climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Mr. Abdulhamid Umar has expressed his excitement about the ACReSAL Project. He said it will emancipate and bring succour to the downtrodden who have suffered as a result of land degradation in the Northern region of Nigeria, and will also bring relief to those living on the corridor of the Sahara Desert.

The NPC disclosed this recently during a hybrid welcome reception organized by the World Bank Task Team Leaders of the ACReSAL in conjunction with the 19 Northern states and FCT, to officially welcome him to the project.

It was also an opportunity to bid farewell to Kenichiro Tachi, an Engineer from the World Bank who did excellently well during NEWMAP, and the formation of ACReSAL project as he exits the Bank.

The NPC commended the World Bank and Federal Government of Nigeria for the investment, concern and intervention to humanity through the ACReSAL Project.

Mr. Umar noted that based on his interaction with his colleagues in the Federal Office, they proved to be competent, technically, and professionally sound people who delivered NEWMAP project exceptionally well and this would have been impossible to achieve without the cooperation and relationship built with the State Project Management Units (SPMUs).

He noted that the quality of briefings he received, and the discussions he has had have so enriched him and given him the comfort and confidence that ACReSAL team will be able to deliver and even exceed the Project Development Objectives (PDO), with necessary support from the states’ project management units.

The NPC reiterated that he already has the commitment of his colleagues, and has also shared with them his experiences of sub projects he has handled, and the leadership roles he has provided in Nigeria, such as ID4D World Bank funded project, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), where he led the team that propelled the digital ID enrolment figures from 7.2 million in 2017 to a figure well over 96million under his leadership amongst others.

Dr. Joy I. Agene, Senior Environmental Specialist, World Bank and Task Team leader, ACReSAL in her opening remarks welcomed the NPC to the ACReSAL family.

The “Social Hybrid Hangout’’ also served as a learning curve, as the TTL illustrated to the team on how to leverage on what we have in common as project staff, and as states to build relationships and improve information sharing for the success of the project. She thanked Engr. Anda for the effective leadership he provided when he Acted as the National Project Coordinator.

The former Acting National Project Coordinator and Water Resources Management Specialist, ACReSAL, welcomed the NPC to the ACReSAL family and thanked the World Bank for the opportunity to hold forth before the appointment of a substantive NPC.

In their individual comments, Engr. Chinedu Umolu, the co-TTL ACReSAL, other World Bank officials as well as the Chairman of ACReSAL Project Coordinators, Alhaji Musa Shuaibu, and the Deputy Chairperson Barr. Ladi Ahmed Jatto, expressed their pleasure to receive, and their desire to work well with the new NPC. They also appreciated Mr. Kenichiro for the good work he did in NEWMAP that resulted in quality engineering designs and wished him well in his future efforts.