Coalition of 87 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of Civil Society Network for Good Governance (CSNGG) have attested to a new dawn at the ecological fund office as observed from an independent assessment of the ecological fund office projects and administration conducted by the Network in 2020.
The statement was made by the National President, Bar. Kamal Adefila on January 18, 2021 at a Press Conference organised by the network for membership organisations in Abuja.
In his address, he noted that in 2020, the effort of the Network doubled to ensure not only transparency and accountability of government spending but also the assurance of a viable and sustainable environment.
Since the Nigeria ecology is faced with numerous menaces as a result of human activities such as urbanisation, deforestation desertification, over population and all kinds of pollution among others, the network embarked on an independent assessment of ecological institutions and projects to take stock of progress, challenges and opportunities to mitigate the ecological issues facing Nigeria, thus the efforts of ecological fund office attracted the Network.
According to him, the report of the independent assessment on the ecological fund office projects and administration revealed the giant strides of the office since 2016, identified challenges and opportunities for improvement. He disclosed that some of the findings from the assessment are that; the Ecological Fund Office under the Leadership of Dr. Habiba Lawal has become highly responsive and responsible to the environmental concerns of Nigeria and Nigerians, the projects executed by the Ecological Fund Office has impacted significantly on lives and livelihoods across the country according testimonies of beneficial communities, Statutory processes and procedures are diligently followed through in the day to day activities of the office, Lack of proper management of some of the projects by community members, as the site inspection has shown blockage of some drainages by refuse; among others.It is against this backdrop that the President applauded the overwhelming impact of the Ecological Fund Office on live and survival of Nigerians and made the following recommendations that; the states and local governments should be transparent and accountable in expending their share of ecological fund from FAAC, Federal Government should prioritize interventions to states with verifiable commitment to address ecological challenges, communities should properly manage ecological projects to ensure environmental sustainability.
