•Says State is clean 

•Mrs. Mbah: We’ll keep pushing

Enugu State has bagged a N100 million award as the cleanest state in Nigeria, as First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, unveiled the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Green Nigeria Challenge.

The challenge is a nationwide environmental competition aimed at encouraging families, youth groups, communities, and states to engage in tree planting and environmental cleanliness.

Mrs. Tinubu unveiled the challenge at the quarterly meeting with Wives of State Governors and Coordinators of RHI at the presidential villa on Wednesday.

The challenge, with the motto, “Go Green Today for a Greener Tomorrow,” is in three categories, namely, households, communities, and state, offering a grand prize of N20 million for the best-performing household, N50 million for the best community, and N100 million for the best state.

At the event, the first lady presented a cheque for N100 million as well as a plaque to the wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, who received the honour on behalf of Enugu as “Model Green State.”

Mrs. Tinubu emphasised, “They earned it. It is not only in planting trees, but in environmental cleanliness. If you go to Enugu, Enugu is clean.”

She recounted a conversation with Mrs. Mbah, praising the proactive approach of the government to tackling environmental issues.

“When she sees anything that the governor doesn’t want to see—any litter around —they call and fix it immediately. And I think that’s the best way to go,” she added.

RHI Green Nigeria Challenge is divided into three categories. The Household Category focuses on 11 northern states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara) that are vulnerable to desertification, encouraging tree planting with a minimum of one tree per household to qualify.

The Community Category invites local governments, youth groups, schools, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) nationwide to reclaim and transform degraded or abandoned spaces into parks, gardens, and eco-friendly areas.

The State Category involves competition among states (excluding Enugu, which has already been rewarded) based on tree coverage along major roads and inner streets, encouraging tree planting.

On the motivation behind the initiative, the Nigerian first lady shared her personal history and inspiration.

She stated, “As a biologist, I’ve always loved to go clean. During the time my husband was governor of Lagos State, I used to go clean clogged drains. I was young, and I used a lot of energy.”

Mrs. Tinubu emphasised leading by example, saying, “People have to see you do what you want them to do. And it’s more appealing and attractive that way.”

Reflecting on her experience at the international level, Mrs. Tinubu recalled attending the G20 Summit in Brazil with President Bola Tinubu.

She recounted, “One of the things they are going to be looking at is plastic waste. Every country is buying into it, cleaning their oceans and waterways because the fauna in the sea is being affected by waste dumped into the sea.”

The first lady highlighted ongoing efforts by the RHI to address the issue, which included RHI’s collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment.

“We are working with the Minister of Environment. We’ve had several meetings, including one in Lagos, and teams have visited Ghana to learn more,” she said.

She disclosed that RHI will be working with the ministry to establish environmental clubs for senior secondary schools and environmental societies for tertiary institutions, with its modalities still being fine-tuned.

Speaking to newsmen, Mrs. Mbah thanked the Nigerian first lady for the recognition. She also thanked her husband, Governor Peter Mbah, state functionaries, and the people of Enugu for their efforts that earned the state the award.

She said, “First, I want to thank the first lady and the mother of the nation for recognising Enugu State as a green and clean state. I also want to thank my husband, the governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, for his tireless effort to keep Enugu clean and green. I thank the commissioners, the local government chairmen, and relevant agencies, like ESWAMA, for their efforts too.

“The key to keeping the state clean and green is not just by giving instructions, but also by being proactive, moving around, carrying out inspection, and doing all the needful. They had actually helped in making Enugu State clean.

“I promised Her Excellency, the First Lady, that we will not relent. We will keep pushing to remain that role model state.”

RHI Green Nigeria Challenge is poised to inspire a nationwide commitment to a cleaner and greener environment, with key submission deadlines set for 2026.

Interested participants are advised to learn more and submit entries at www.rhinitiative.org.

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