From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives Adhoc Committee that investigated the utilisation of Ecological Fund released to the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has absolved the management of the agency of financial sleaze.
The panel, chaired by Ismaila Dabo, in its report, stated that contrary to allegations that the agency spent N81. 2 billion on tree planting, the total sum released to the NAGGW from its inception in 2015 to July, 2023 was N53,425,423,874.34.
The committee also urged the government to restore the 15 per cent allocation to the agency from the ecological fund, which was reduced to five percent.
The House had in July adopted a motion on “the need to investigate the utilisation of ecological funds released to the Great Green Wall by the international organizations from 2015 to Date; and all federal allocations to the National Agency for the Great Green Wall as well as all contract awarded to various contractors for the project from 2019 to date.”
At the inaugural sitting of the panel, it was alleged that the agency spent N81.2 billion on the planting of 21 million trees across 11 frontline states, including Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
However, the Director General/CEO of NAGGW, Yusuf Maina Bukar, in his presentation to the Committee, explained that the total amount released to the agency from inception to July 2023 was N53,425,423,874.34, as against the N81.2 billion it was alleged to have spent.
Bukar, who assumed office as DG in April 2022, while dismissing the outrageous alleged to have been spent on tree planting, maintained that the Agency has not acted outside its mandate in the implementation of the Great Green Wall Programme.
According to him, “the NAGGW cost of planting, from inception in 2015 to July 2023 is N5,145,735,470.15.
“That the approximate sum of N7.2 billion balance in the Agency’s account are liabilities already committed to ongoing contracts that have already been awarded. All unutilised funds from capital appropriation are refunded to Federal Government TSA account at the end of the financial year where applicable.”
Similarly, the panel in its report stated that evidence from the hearing indicated that the NAGGW received N53,425,423,874.34 from inception in 2015 to July, 2023.
The committee added that its findings revealed that the Agency did not receive budgetary allocation for 2015 and that ecological funding was not released to it until 2019, while the percentage of ecological funding going to the Agency was reduced from 15% provided for by the Act to just 5% with effect from January 2020 to date.
The Ad-hoc Committee, also acknowledged that the paucity and untimely release of funds, inability to access foreign assistance and absence of a Governing Board as some of the factors hindering the performance of the agency frowned at unilateral reduction in the statutory allocation to the agency.
Consequently, it urged government, as a matter of urgency, to revert the ecological fund releases to the agency back to 15 percent as provided for by the NAGGW Act.
The panel also recommended that the total sum of N20,168,363,662.18 being the shortfall of the reduction from ecological fund for January, 2020 to date, be immediately released to the Agency to fund its activities.
Other recommendations of the panel include that the Ecological Fund Office should calculate and remit to the NAGGW the total sums due to the agency from the Ecological Fund from 2015 to 2018. And that the NAGGW should “ as a matter of urgency include the frontline states of Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe States in the fourth phase of the afforestation projects which is to commence soon.”
According to the lawmakers, “there is urgent need for the agency to undertake recruitment of staff, especially for its offices at the front line states. “
The panel, while stating that there is “need for a greater collaboration and synergy between the NAGGW and the Federal Ministry of Environment”, urged the the Federal Government to constitute a governing board for the agency.