FG, states misuse N500bn Ecological Fund- Senate

…Seeks establishment of agency to streamline spending
Federal and states governments have reportedly misused about N500billion meant to redress ecological problems prevalent in some parts of the country.

In 2013, a report of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts uncovered a massive abuse and misappropriation of funds which include N154.9 billion on projects not related to the environment.

This disclosure was made on Wednesday at the Public Hearing of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Ecology & Climate Change and Environment on the bill seeking the establishment of the National Ecological Agency.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Mohammed Hassan in a situation report of cases of misuse of the fund said N93.7 billion was illegally transferred from the Ecology Fund to the Consolidated Revenue Fund to fund the acceleration of capital budget advances to states and local governments to meet revenue shortfall and third quarter development fund warrant.

It was further revealed that The National Economic Council reported that about N200 billion belonging to the Ecological fund had been spent on questionable projects that were either nonexistence or had no relation to the fight against ecological disasters.

In June 2010, the House of Representatives raised queries over curious withdrawals and loans to agencies and individuals totalling N146.594 billion, mainly to irrelevant objectives of the fund while in December 2011, a sum of N20.1 billion was illegally deducted from the Fund for debt servicing.

The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan allegedly gave N2billion to certain states of the federation but excluded other states and a sum of N2.078 billion was withdrawn from the fund towards the building of the Second Niger Bridge.

Senator Hassan said the operation of the Ecological Fund which is one of the biggest special intervention fund has over the years raised questions of accountability, transparency and credibility.

“Successive governments have serially been accused of diverting and enriching themselves from the Ecological Fund. The operation of the fund had been largely discretionary, with zero guidelines on the disbursement and utilization of the monies.

“Funds were given out from the Ecological fund as loans to private individuals and companies, state governments and corporations. The indiscriminate application of the fund has had some states benefit so much from it while some other states got next to nothing”

“There is therefore an urgent need for the strict regulation and supervision of the Ecological fund to stop what has become a gross abuse if several billions of naira paid into the fund annually.”

The bill, therefore is seeking a legislative regulation of the transparent and accountable operation of the fund and to ensure that the fund is applied solely for the purpose of environmental and ecological problems.

It is also expected to address specification and categorisation of beneficiaries of the fund, the distribution proportions and purposes for which the fund can only be applied, to curb the arbitrary expenditure from the fund.