Despite huge disbursements from the Ecological Fund Office, under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), to states to address various environmental challenges, environmental disasters like flooding, erosion, desertification, etc, have persisted across the country. BENJAMIN SAMSON in this report seeks to know what’s not being done right.
The Fund
Explaining the Fund in an interview with this reporter, a professor of Environmental Science at Federal University Lafia, Nasarawa state, Kefas Iliya, said, “The ecological fund is an intervention fund by the federal government, specially designated for addressing the multifarious ecological challenges in various communities across the country. It was originally constituted as one per cent of the federation account, reviewed to two per cent in 1992, and later one per cent of the derivation allocation was added, thus bringing the total percentage to three. The state and local governments receive their shares of the Derivation and Ecology Fund as part of their monthly allocations at the Federal Account Allocation Committee monthly meetings.
“Some of the ecological problems and challenges ravaging communities across the country include soil erosion, floods, drought, desertification, oil spillage, pollution, general environmental pollution, storm, tornadoes, bush fire, crop pest, landslide, earthquakes, etc. The core mandates of the Ecological Fund Office, therefore, includes efforts to reduce ecological problems nationwide to the barest minimum; facilitate quality and effective implementation of projects; judicious and equitable utilisation of the Fund; and effective management of Ecological Fund Projects.”
Disbursements
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the Ecological Funds Office disbursed N39.62 billion to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). The NBS said that the 36 states received the above sums as ecological fund disbursements from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) from June 2023 to June 2024.
“This is aside from the N3 billion which Vice President Kashim Shettima recently said had been approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for each state of the federation to tackle all forms of natural disasters, including erosion and flooding.”
A breakdown of the ecological funds disbursed to the states within the period under review shows that Kano and Lagos states got the highest shares.
The former received N2.1 billion (an average of N175 million per month); and the latter, N1.81 billion (an average of N150.83 million per month).
The NBS had noted that the payments reflected the peculiar environmental hazards in the various states as disbursements were made based on the severity of the challenges.
Borno state had received N1.68 billion (an average of N140 million per month) within the period; Kaduna, N1.4 billion (N124.17 million per month on average); Sokoto, N1.49 billion (N124.17 million per month); Edo, N632.8 million (N52.73 million per month); Abia, N633.68 million (N52.81 million per month); Adamawa, N1.24 billion (N103.33 million per month) and Anambra, N1.35 billion (N112.50 million per month).
Others are Kwara, N602.3 million (N50.20 million per month); Bayelsa, N598.79 million (N49.90 million per month) and Ondo, N629.42 million (N52.45 million per month).
Corruption, misappropriation
However, speaking with this reporter, the convener of Environmental 360, a civil society organisation (CSO) which focuses in fighting climate change, Ezeme Nwode, said corruption and misappropriation of the funds is responsible for the environmental disasters in despite huge disbursements to states and the FCT Nigeria.
He said, “Herdsmen fleeing desertification have created serious security and economic problems throughout the North. Illegal mining in many states has contributed to the degradation of the landscape, disrupted farming seasons, and birthed banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping-for-ransom. Illegal and uncontrolled logging in forest areas have also led to environmental disasters and pushed residents into multidimensional poverty.
“Proactively, the government since the 1980s has enacted legislation that created the Ecological Fund. It is sustained by taxes as a buffer and intervention nest to help the states and LGs implement remedial programmes. Money from the fund is disbursed regularly, and just as regularly, officials at every level plunder the funds.
“The institutions that should monitor, oversee and compel proper accounting are weak and compromised. These include the National Assembly, state Houses of Assembly, statutory auditors, and the anti-graft agencies. For federal and state officials, the funds are ‘pocket money,’ which they routinely embezzle.
“While many governors have been accused of diverting the ecological funds without reprimand, only one, a former governor of Plateau state, Joshua Dariye, was successfully prosecuted and jailed with his conviction confirmed by the Supreme Court. He served less than three years of his 12-year sentence before he was accorded Presidential pardon.
“As part of his rejected defence, Dariye claimed that N100 million out of the N1.1 billion misappropriated was used to fund the re-election bid of then President Olusegun Obasanjo. This untenable defence merely confirms the attitude of officials to the buffer.”
Likewise, Prof. Iliya bemoaned poor utilisation of the funds at all levels of the government.
“Have the intervention funds been utilised judiciously? Why is the Fund domiciled in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation instead of the Federal Ministry of Environment?”
According to him, it is better for the Ecological Fund Office to be under the Federal Ministry of Environment or an agency of the government under the Federal Ministry of Environment where the minister will strictly supervise disbursements.
“The head of the office ought to be an experienced environmentalist that has detailed information about the ecological problems in the country and ecological maps in collaboration with line MDAs in executing ecological problems.
“There are many ecological problems begging for solutions. There are flood control measures to be conducted, disaster preparedness and response infrastructure to be established, buffer dams to be built, and windbreakers to be planted. In fact, there is monitoring and evaluation to be conducted on the entire northeast ecosystem, which by its nature is vulnerable to the effects of climate change—heat waves, droughts, rainstorms, and desertification.
“All these require money, which has been disbursed. But the budgeted ecological project funds are under-utilised or diverted to other non-ecological projects.
“There was a report submitted by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting on this issue, which was pathetically indicting successive governments on the misuse of this special eco-intervention Fund. There was evidence of abandoned projects and others haphazardly done in such a way that the environmental problems of the people became even worse than they were before the contractor mobilised to the site. Yet, there were corruption-ridden cases where contracts were awarded and money disbursed, but no work was done whatsoever.
“There is no gainsaying the truth that the lack of transparency in the application of the ecological fund has cost us more than we can ever evaluate.”
Rebuttal, admonition
However, a senior official from the Ecological Fund Office who spoke with this reporter on condition anonymity, because he doesn’t have the authority to speak on the matter, denied allegations of corruption in the disbursement and utilisation of the funds.
The official said, “Well, I cannot say that funds are being mismanaged. We have a strong system that ensures efficient management of resources. So, allegations of mismanagement of ecological funds are misplaced. I know that for every government, you can never have enough funds because the levels of needs are very huge.
“I believe that what is required at the state level is setting priorities correctly and ensuring that every stakeholder is carried along in the implementation of programmes to address ecological issues.
“It’s just for them to ensure that what is meant for ecological issues is spent on environmental issues, such that the average person in the state can feel the impact of such spending.
“So, my advice to them is to prioritise ecological problems and ensure that the funds for environmental issues are specifically directed at environmental issues, which involve stakeholders in their implementation of such ecological projects.
“We also need to carry the citizens along more, because several challenges that we face with ecology are based on human habits, when we carry the citizens along more, they will be able to buy into the policies of the government, and they are able to see themselves as partners in progress to implement the agenda of the government.”
On the long-term strategies that the government at all levels need to apply to address the underlying causes of environmental challenges, such as climate change and environmental degradation, the official said, “The challenge of climate change is not something we can solve immediately. What is causing climate change is the heavy emission of greenhouse gases that occurred over centuries. Mitigating and solving those problems is also going to take some time. So, it’s not something we can give a dramatic solution to within a short term.”
The official said further, “What we can focus on is first, to ensure that we do not worsen the problems, and ensure that we prepare ourselves, we adapt ourselves to those challenges, and that is why the government continues to preach, for example, the issue of tree-planting; this is because trees are important in ensuring that the greenhouse gas emissions are absorbed from the atmosphere. Trees are also important in controlling the oceans.
“They are important in reducing the speed of rainwater and flood water so that erosion and washing of topsoil do not occur. They’re also very good at holding the soil together. So, planting trees is very important. We continue to promote the issue of tree planting, we continue to promote the idea of people preserving green areas in their compounds, and we preach that when you build your house, you don’t pave everywhere with cement, or with interlocking stones.
“You have to leave some areas so that when rain falls, it can soak into the ground, if we interlock the whole area, the rain cannot be soaked by the soil, and that is one of the reasons we sometimes have flash floods in urban areas because there’s nowhere the water can go, and the water has to go somewhere.
“We also continue to preach sustainable management of forest resources and substantial land management so that we do not over-graze the land, we do not over-cultivate the land, and we do not over-exploit our natural resources. All of these can help us in addressing the challenges of climate change and land degradation that we are facing.”
NASS’ reaction
Meanwhile, the House of Representative Committee on Ecological Fund has promised to ensure appropriated funds were disbursed accordingly and utilised judiciously.
The team, led by the vice-chairman, Oyedeji Oyeshina, was in Lagos for an on-the-spot assessment of some erosion-prone areas.
Others in the team were Paul Nnamchi; Kafilat Ogbara; Ahmed Doro; Hassan Abubakar; Yakubu Noma; Abdullahi Gwarzo; Patrick Umoh; Aminu Aliyu Gari; Hassan Jakduwa; Aminu Ibrahim Kafu, and Danladi Aguye.
They visited Orimolade Street, off College Road, Alade Bucknor Estate off Fagba Road, in Ogba; Sango Toll Gate Bridge on the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway, as well as Maidan/Agiliti areas in Ketu.
Addressing reporters after the tour, Oyeshina said the team had gone round some other states in the South-west to see things themselves and towards ensuring a lasting solution to erosion challenges.
He said, “We had visited some states in the North and East parts, and now in the South-west. We recognise erosion as part of the effects of climate change, and so we have to ensure that funds allocated to combat it must be used judiciously.
“The federal government decided to pause on the allocation of funds to allow the Committee conduct a holistic assessment and advise it on subsequent disbursement as appropriate.
“Part of our mandate is to ensure that all communities affected by erosion and other ecological issues are adequately catered for when the funds are allocated.
“The federal government will not relent, but will continue to collaborate with all states in order to perform its responsibilities of maintaining a safe and sustainable environment for all.”
