The House of Representatives Committee on Ecology on Monday queried the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) on the N12.7 billion ecological fund received and expended by the authority from 2020 to date.
Ibrahim Isiaka, chairman of the committee, issued the queries at the investigative hearing on the “Need to Investigate the Total Consolidated Accruals and Utilization of Ecological Fund”.
That was after Paul Ikonne, the director general of NALDA, presented details of the funds the authority received from June, 2020 to March 2022 which amounted to N9.6 billion while a total of N12.7 billion has been collected up to date.
Reacting to the presentation, Isiaka said the committee has received the authority’s submission
and gone through it but members have so many questions about the document.
“NALDA, we have received your submission and having gone through it, the committee members have so many queries and questions. Before we put on the spot you still want a bit so that we go through the rest,” he said.
The chairman also expressed dismay over the non appearance of some agencies of federal government as well as several state governments to the hearing and summoned them, particularly the National Emergency Management Agency to appear before the committee.
According to him, only about 10 states, including Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Kwara, Imo, Niger, Ondo, Borno, Jigawa honoured the invitation out of the 36 States invited.
He said: “Those that refused to cause appearance here, or refused to respond to our letters; anyone willing to test the capacity of this committee will not be disappointed. It is very obvious that people are even just paying lip service in this country and being frivolous about the clamour for devolution of powers, such that the urge to always go cap in and to the central by states
“This committee and House of Representatives in the past few months have worked assiduously to make sure that the 774 local governments of this country and the 36 state including the FCT, they are self sustained in terms of funds and allocation to them for ecological challenges and now, out of 36 states of the federation, we do not even have half of the representatives here with us.
“I don’t know where we are going to. This is the second opportunity and window open to them. The first was when we started public hearing on the regulation of ecological fund, that is the bill, as it where that time, only three states came here.
“But then, again to prevent the ecological fund from being seen as a slush fund, Mr Speaker directed the committee to make it in such a way that no other institution, because before now any law is being presented, they always asked them for source of fund. They always say ecological fund. So, everybody is seeing it as an idle fund.
“Now, we are calling all of us to sit down, let us allow the whole world to know that it is not an idle fund. By new legislation that may be coming we are saying enough is enough. We do not want anyone to be referring to it and say it should be their funding. They should look for their source of fund elsewhere.
“If the President of the country could send to us through the SGF and ecological project office a compendium of how it spent the ecological money under its administration, I don’t see anyone or institution that should refuse the invitation of this committee.
“But we have some good news for them. We still give them that window to hurriedly make their submissions and appear to defend whatever they are submitting, or they would be willing to go and defend themselves at another institutions of the government.”
Earlier in his submission,Cyril Tsenyil, the accountant – general of Plateau State, told the committee that between 2021 and October 2022, the state received N1.3 billion
ecological funds.
Ibrahim Umar, the commissioner for finance, Jigawa state said the state received about N2 billion in 2021 while Zanna Hamza, the FCT director of Treasury, said that the territory received N1.5 billion.
However, the committee chairman directed the FCT to submit a comprehensive document to cover the six area councils, saying they are part of the 774 local governments.
“We have the details for the N1.5 billion as you have explained which we are going to engage you on. But what about the area councils and the FCT. Prepare from 2014 based on what you have to 2021. Revise what you have with you, capture it from 2014 to 2021 and submit at once”, Isiaka said.
In his submission, Clement Nze, the director general of the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency appealed to the committee to make more funds available to it to effectively execute its mandate.
On his part, Abdulkarim Ibrahim, the director of federation revenue and special Accounts who represented the Accountant General of the Federation, Sylvia Okolieaboh threw lig on the controversy surrounding the previous payments of fund to the states.
“The vertical sharing formula has evolved for sometime. The current ratio we use now, is 52.68 percent for federal government, 26.72 percent for states and 20.60 percent for local government. That 72 percent for states represents ecological elements of states but unknown to them.
“Most of them who are wise remove that fraction and enter into a separate account but majority of the states, whatever they receive annually or monthly they assume is for..with exclusion of ecological fund.
“Most states now are saying it’s only from March 2021 that they have account of ecological fund unknown to them that all these while, what they have been receiving there’s element of ecological fund in their kit”, he said.
On his part, Clinton Igwe, the director, pollution and control, Ecological Projects Office, representing the permanent secretary said the office does not control the ecological funds.
“There’s a general misconception about the ecological fund as distinct from ecological project office which happens to be one of the core reasons why with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari we had to change our name from ecological fund office to project office.
“To properly situate the office and its mandate, so that public will begin to appreciate that the office is clearly different from the fund. We don’t have the fund, we don’t control the fund. So when you hear that Federal Executive Council approved project ABC, what comes to us are those amounts of money attached to these projects to enable us execute it.
“The ecological fund is shared every month at FAAC. The records are there with the accountant general. Sharing of the ecological fund is done at FAAC and every state and local government get their portion. The federal government portion is just one percent of the 2.32 percent.
“A lot of people because of the recent flood experience, they keep pointing at ecological project office, it’s not just ecological project office. Mr President can come to intervene and that’s the only time we will do any job.
“We expect that going forward, states if they really want to apply their resources to the purpose this fund is made, should come to FG and copy the way they structure their project office to be able to effectively handle ecological issues in the various states”, he said.
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