President Bola Tinubu has removed Nkiruka Madueke from her role as Director General of the National Council on Climate Change and appointed Omotenioye Majekodunmi, a climate finance specialist, in her place.
The announcement came on Wednesday through a statement from presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Mrs Omotenioye Majekodunmi as the new Director General of the National Council on Climate Change,” the statement read.
According to the presidency, Majekodunmi brings over 17 years of experience across global and national institutions working on renewable energy, carbon finance, and climate policy. Until her appointment, she was the Council’s financial adviser.
Her promotion is being positioned by the presidency as part of Tinubu’s broader push to treat climate change as a national priority with economic, security, and social implications.
Although the presidency praised Madueke’s “foundational role” in setting up the council, her sudden removal has stirred speculation.
Multiple sources linked the move to a wave of discontent among Nigerian climate stakeholders, who accused her of blocking their accreditation to attend the UN climate talks in Bonn last month.
“She was in the office today and didn’t seem to know anything about it,” a senior official at the Council said. “This came as a real shock.”
Observers say Madueke had been under quiet pressure since returning from COP29 in Azerbaijan, where she caused a stir by publicly rejecting the global climate finance deal on the table.
“We cannot accept this,” she said at the time. “You expect us to deliver ambitious NDCs without meaningful financial backing. The $300 billion figure is unrealistic. Let’s be honest about what’s possible.”
Her bluntness drew mixed reactions. Some applauded her courage. Others felt she crossed a line by using activist language at a high-level diplomatic forum.
Second DG sacked in two years
Madueke is now the second Director General of the Council to be dismissed before completing the four-year term guaranteed by the Climate Change Act of 2021.
Her predecessor, Salisu Dahiru, was also removed in 2024, just two years into the job.
Analysts say this revolving-door leadership raises serious concerns about policy continuity and Nigeria’s credibility in global climate negotiations.
Some insiders link the tension at the Council to an internal turf war with the Presidency’s climate envoy office, led by Ajuri Ngelale until his own resignation earlier this year.
That office had been handed sweeping responsibilities including leading international negotiations and coordinating the carbon market many of which overlap with the Council’s statutory mandate.
