By George George Idowu
Several billion naira ecological projects that was approved in 2017 by government of the 36 states in the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are yet to be completed as of today.
The details were contained in a report obtained from the Ecological Project Office’s website.
The Ecological Fund, is an Intervention Fund estlished by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address multifarious ecological challenges in various communities across the country.
These ecological challenges include flooding, drought, deforestation, pollution, soild erosion and desertification faced by communities nationwide.
Despite non-completion of numerous ecological projects embarked on by state governments in 2017, billions of naira have been disbursed from the federal purse to each of the 36 state governments in the country from 2018 to 2023, through the Ecological Project Office.
This year, the Federal Government disbursed N6.5 billion ecological fund in March alone, according to data sourced from the Federation Allocation Account Committee.
The affected states are Nasarawa, Akwa-Ibom, Kaduna,Katsina, Kebbi, Cross River, Ebonyi. Lagos, Benue and Kogi. Others include Adamawa, Jigawa, Delta, Ogun, Osun, Bauchi, Niger and Gombe, Edo, Kano, Enugu, Yobe, Bayelsa, Sokoto, Ondo and the FCT.
Out of the N6.5 billion naira ecological fund dsibursed in the first quarter of this year, Delta State obtained the highest amount, N19.2 billion, followed by Bayelsa State, N2.8 billion, then Cross River State, N645.3 million.
In the mean time, checks on ecological projects embarked on in the country revealed that between 2015 and 2017, the country witnessed significant efforts to tackle ecological challenges through various projects.
But, several of the projectrs initiated by the Federal Government are yet to be completed tody despite the whopping sum of funds sunk into these projects.
For example, only 45% works hve been done at the mitigation of flooding into Uburu Salt Lake and Rice Farms in Ebonyi State. The OORA/AAYO River erosion control and road improvement, located at Oke-Ayo Area, Ilesha, Osun State, is presently at 45% completion. Same thing with Erosion control works, approved in June 2017, located at Makinde Way and Environs, Idimu, Lagos State. It is yet to be completed.
In the northern part of the country are projects like the Bauchi-Ningi Road Erosion Control, approved in October 2017, and the Burga- Gwammadaji flood and erosion control works. They are still at 65% level of completion. The Rice field erosion and flood control projects in Bagudu and Suru Local Government Areas in Kwbbi State and the flood and erosion control of Damaturu-Balmari-Gashua Road, Yobe State , have only seen 50% of work done.
The inbility to complete these projects since when they were awarded raises questions about accountability, transparency, and effective project management in the country.