‘Watch your states’ govs over use of released Ecological/Natural Resources Funds’
Leading Environmental activist and head of Research and Development at Africa Environmental & Economic Peace Mission (AEEPM), Dr. Dan Agu has called on Nigerians to keep intelligent watch over the use and application of the released Ecological Fund to their respective states.
In an interview, he said “The experiences of many states on how their states governor used their allocation of the fund in the past have never been good and as such this is time to change the narrative”.
“Many governors in the past had brazenly diverted the ecological fund to personal uses and walked away freely. We need to explain to Nigerians why they should keep closer eyes on how the fund is being used by their governors and be ready to blow whistle at the moment they suspect foul play.
It would be recalled that under former president Goodluck Jonathan administration, some states were repeatedly favoured with the funds as reward for loyalty, and for future political ends, while many others that applied and were qualified to get the funds, were not paid.
Governor Willy Obiano of Anambra State who briefed newsmen after the NEC meeting stated that the records presented by the Accountant General of the Federation showed that the balance in the Natural Resource Fund stood at N70.8bn while that of the Ecological Fund was N33.6bn, bringing the combined total to N104.5bn. This is a substantial amount of money which can go a long way in alleviating, if not completely solving, the many ecological problems besetting the states.
