First Lady’s ₦50m community green challenge closes without entries

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has announced that the community category of the Renewed Hope Initiative Green Nigeria Challenge closed without receiving any significant entries.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mrs Tinubu said the category, which officially closed on July 15, 2026, was designed to encourage the transformation of degraded community spaces such as dumpsites, landfills and abandoned areas into green parks, gardens and other eco-friendly spaces.

“Unfortunately, no significant entry was received,” she said.

The First Lady, however, commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for remodelling the Abuja City Gate, describing it as a model of the environmental transformation the competition sought to promote.

“I commend the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, His Excellency, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, CON for remodelling the Abuja City Gate, which has become a notable landmark and a clear example of the kind of environmental transformation the Community Category was designed to promote,” she said.

Tinubu urged state governments to replicate such initiatives by investing in cleaner and greener communities, ensuring proper waste disposal and keeping drainage channels free of plastic waste and other obstructions to reduce flooding.

“I encourage other States to emulate this example by investing in cleaner, greener communities, ensuring proper waste disposal, and keeping drainage channels free of plastic waste and other obstructions to help prevent flooding,” she added.

She noted that the Household and State categories of the Green Nigeria Challenge remain open until December 20, 2026, and called on eligible participants to submit their entries through the Offices of the First Ladies in their respective states.

“The Household and State categories of the Green Nigeria Challenge remain open until 20th December, 2026. We encourage households and States to participate.

“Entries should be submitted through the Office of the First Lady in the respective States,” she said.

The RHI Green Nigeria Challenge, launched by the Renewed Hope Initiative under the leadership of the First Lady, is a nationwide environmental campaign promoting tree planting and the restoration of degraded environments.

The challenge features three categories.

The Household Category is open to households in 10 frontline northern states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara). It offers a ₦20 million prize for tree-planting initiatives.

The State Category, open to all states except Enugu, which has already been recognised as the RHI’s “Model Green State”, carries a ₦100 million prize for state-wide tree-planting efforts.

Both categories will close on December 20, 2026.

The now-closed community category was open to local governments, local communities, youth groups, schools, and NGOs across 36 states and the FCT. It promised a ₦50,000,000 cash prize.