The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), shall next week commence its Intersectional Leadership Incubator (ILI) Fellowship programme, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at empowering grassroots advocates from Nigeria’s Niger Delta region to champion local and national climate justice agendas.
The fellows drawn from frontline mining host communities, oil and gas, and forest reserve communities across the 10 states of the Niger Delta: Abia, Anambra, Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ondo, Imo, Bayelsa, and Delta, were chosen from a highly competitive selection process. 24 fellows were chosen from a pool of 479 applications for the 2025 cohort.
The cohort prioritizes participation of women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and youth, and engages key community leaders to enhance access and advocacy engagements.
The ILI Fellowship is designed to ensure that the rights, voices, and aspirations of historically disadvantaged communities and land-connected peoples are recognized and reflected in policies, laws, and climate finance mechanisms.
“Those who suffer the most from the devastating impacts of climate change, mining, and oil and gas exploration must be at the forefront of the solutions,” said Mr. Vincent Dania, Programme Coordinator at Centre LSD. “The ILI Fellowship exists to support these individuals to not only lead local advocacy efforts but also influence national and international policies that affect their futures.”
The fellows will participate in a week-long intensive training scheduled to hold May 19 – 23, 2025 at Awka, the Anambra State capital. The training will cover areas such as strategic leadership and organisation, rights-based approach to advocacy, gender equality and social inclusion, and project management.
During the training, the fellows will develop innovative community project ideas, which they will be supported to implement in their respective communities over the fellowship period.
By empowering leaders and fellows from impacted communities with critical skills, the program will significantly enhance their capacity to drive transformative change, advancing climate justice and fostering more equitable and sustainable natural resource governance.
Importantly, the programme will provide structured platforms for fellows to engage with policymakers and stakeholders, allowing them to participate in national and global conversations on climate justice and natural resource governance
