President Muhamadu Buhari on Wednesday 19th October challenged states to give an account of how they spent amounts in excess of one trillion naira, allocated to them from the Ecological Fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems.
This came as the Federal Government said that the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun was not responsible for the large-scale flooding in Nigeria.
Several states, including Benue and Kogi in the North-Central; Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta in the South-South, have cried out for help from the Federal Government as they battle to provide succor for victims of floods forced out of their homes and left without shelter, food and potable water.
Roughly N1 trillion, representing 2.2 percent of the total budget for 2018, 2019, and 2023 was budgeted for ecological and disaster management.
However, a search of the website of the Ecological Fund Office for details of accruals and monthly/ quarterly releases to states and federal agencies did not yield the desired results.
Meanwhile, the current plight of Nigerians facing the severe impact of flooding across the country has raised questions about the country’s ecological fund.
Many parts of Nigeria, especially the coastal areas usually experience flooding yearly, but this year’s floods have been described as the worst in more than a decade as authorities race to provide relief to hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced.
