The fund was created in 1981 and is primarily intended to help all levels of government address ecological issues. It is taken from the Federation Account at a rate of two percent. Under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Ecological Fund Office oversees the fund’s distribution procedure.
The 36 states received N39.62 billion from the federal government last year. Funds are distributed according to the severity of the environmental difficulties that Nigeria faces, reflecting the different degrees of these challenges across the country.
Kano State was allotted the largest amount, N2.1bn, on average every month. Borno State received the second-highest amount of N1.68bn (averaging N140m per month) to address environmental damage caused by the conflict.
The Kano-Maiduguri route reportedly became unusable due to recent heavy rainfall, severely disrupting traffic flow. The rains have also had an impact on numerous states.
Due to protracted delays, the Federal Government has terminated the contract for Section 1 of the Kano-Maiduguri road project. Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, made this announcement on Saturday in a statement provided by his Special Advisor for Media, Uchenna Orji. Additionally, the minister has mandated an expeditious evaluation of the road project.
According to a report titled “Nigeria BAY States, Shelter/NFI Sector Flood Situation Update, April – July 2024 (Issue 1.0)” from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, severe weather incidents in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states between April and July 2024 directly affected 124,275 people across 56 internally displaced persons sites.
26,493 households were impacted by 46 strong windstorms, 66 incidents of flooding, and 115 cases of windstorms and flooding occurring at the same time in the region.
The report said that these accidents had seriously damaged camp infrastructure, including safe areas, shelters, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) amenities like showers and latrines.
The survey brought to light a seven percent rise in these weather-related accidents over the previous year, making the already dire situation in these places even worse.
Fewer than 5% of those impacted had gotten aid in the form of non-food items or shelter as of July. Relief operations, which are already finding it difficult to satisfy the needs of over a million IDPs throughout the three states, are under tremendous pressure due to the devastation caused by the current rainy season.
With 114,747 affected IDPs, Borno State has been hit the hardest. Yobe and Adamawa have been affected by 9,419 and 309 IDPs, respectively.
OCHA stated that the extent of the damage is substantial, noting that 134 host communities and 51 IDP settlements had experienced flooding. A total of 26,779 shelters were destroyed by windstorms or flooding, leaving 24,463 households in dire need of refuge.
Other major beneficiaries of the ecological fund are the three states of Kaduna (N1.4 billion, averaging N124.17 million per month), Sokoto (N1.49 billion, averaging N124.17 million per month), and Lagos (N1.81 billion, averaging N150.83 million per month).
On the other hand, Kwara receives N602.3m (averaging N50.20m per month), Bayelsa receives N598.79m (averaging N49.90m per month), and Ondo receives N629.42m (averaging N52.45m per month) as the states with the lowest allocations.
N632.8 million, or N52.73 million on average, was given to Edo, and N633.68 million, or N52.81 million on average, was given to Abia.
Adamawa was given N1.24 billion, or N103.33 million a month, to deal with problems including erosion and flooding. N1.35bn was allotted to Anambra, or N112.50 million a month on average.
Benue, which experiences flooding and desertification, was given N758.97 million, or N63.25 million a month. The goal of the N680 million (or N56.67 million per month) that Cross River got was to manage erosion and deforestation.
Enugu was paid N1.36 billion for its ecological measures, or N113.33 million on average every month.
Experts stressed how important the ecological fund is to funding national environmental protection initiatives. Ensuring sustainable development and safeguarding people and property from ecological calamities are its ultimate goals.
Additionally, the fund is essential in helping the government lessen the effects of climate change, especially in areas that are susceptible.
Victor Agi, an accountability advocate with the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Accountability, voiced concerns about the opaqueness of the ecological fund’s management.
Agi stated, “We don’t even get to know how the funds are used.”
He doubted the fund’s ability to lessen the effects of yearly natural calamities like floods in Nigeria.
“What is the purpose of the ecological fund if flooding occurs annually?” he questioned.
Agi proposed that, in order to guarantee accountability and efficient use, the federal government take into consideration assuming direct administration of the ecological fund, which is presently overseen by state governors.
Environmental economist Tobi Awolope of the Federal University of Agriculture in Ogun State’s Centre for Agricultural Development and Sustainable Environment, on the other hand, claimed that the fund has been characterized by ineffective intervention and financial misallocation.
The government’s intervention is not reaching the right people and target population, causing the situation to worsen. Awolope emphasizes the need for impact assessments and clear objectives for effective management of ecological funds, ensuring they achieve ecological restoration and disaster prevention objectives.
