TheCable

Femi Falana, human rights advocate, says the federal government should commence an investigation into the management of the ecological fund. 

In a statement from his chambers signed by Tayo Soyemi, Falana said this on Monday at a convocation lecture at Augustine University, Ilara, Epe, Lagos.

The ecological fund office, which is under the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF), was created in 1985 following the approval of the Federation Account Act of 1981.

The fund includes “1% of the Federation Account and it is known as derivation and ecology fund”, and the focus of the office is to “have a pool of funds that would be solely devoted to the funding of ecological projects to mitigate serious ecological problems”.

Among various intervention initiatives, in July 2021, the federal executive council (FEC) had approved N16.04 billion ecological fund projects across 12 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) for soil erosion/flood and pollution control interventions.

Speaking at the event on Monday, Falana expressed concern over the impact of recent flooding across communities, adding that it is wrong for the federal government to ask citizens to hold state governments to account in event of a national disaster.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government did not ask the citizens to hold the state governments to account for funds meant for building and equipping hospitals,” he said.

“Instead of inciting citizens to demand an explanation which will be ignored by state governments, the federal government should submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the investigation of the mismanagement of the ecological fund which is a crime against humanity.

“The mismanagement of ecological fund is a crime against humanity because it is responsible for the loss of many lives, displacement of millions of people, and destruction of properties worth trillions of Naira.

“Before the proposed probe by the EFCC, the federal government should come to the aid of the affected state governments. However, the EFCC should probe the involvement of officials of the federal government and state governments.

“In particular, the federal government has failed to release money from the ecological fund to the affected states. On their own part, the various state governments have equally failed to provide relief materials for the victims.”

The senior lawyer also expressed concern over ongoing campaign activities by political parties despite the effect of flooding on victims.

Falana, who faulted Suleiman Adamu, minister of water resources, for saying the floods are an “act of God”, also urged the government to ensure that measures to mitigate flooding become a priority.

“The federal government should release fund to the affected states to provide relief materials and compensation to the victims. In order to protect the environment, the federal government should ban further flaring of gas in the Niger Delta region as soon as possible,” he added.

“The federal government should equally address the crisis of perennial flooding in the river Niger and Benue basins as well as the Lagdo dam in Cameroon.

“In view of the reality of climate change, governments at all levels should prioritise safety measures of people living in low lands in the implementation of environment policies.

“Since more floods have been predicted for the remaining part of the year, urgent steps should be taken by governments at all levels to prevent more disasters.

“Also, permit me to call on the Nigerian people, including the youths, to join the struggle to recover the country from the tiny grip of imperialism and its local lackeys.

“The battle will not be won unless a crop of dedicated youths will mobilise the Nigerian people to take their political destiny in their own hands.”