President Muhammadu Buhari has said that 266 ecological projects have been completed across the country in the last seven years.
The President said this on Wednesday while speaking at the launch of a compendium of ecological projects undertaken by this administration.
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He said 332 ecological projects were approved between 2015 and 2023, out of which 266 were accomplished while the remaining 66 were at different stages of completion.
The President, who launched the publication before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Management Team of the Ecological Project Office (EPO), for the judicious use of available resources for the effective implementation of approved projects, as well as the initiative for the publication.
He directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which had not done so to showcase their performance and achievements to the public.
Buhari said the enormity of Nigeria’s ecological problems and inherited infrastructural deficit, in general, had the tendency to always drown achievements in addressing ecological challenges and infrastructural deficit at large.
The President, therefore, said this compendium for the reading pleasure and knowledge of Nigerians would bridge the information and communication gap between Nigerians and the real-time performance of this Administration by portraying the specific locations of ecological projects, with pictorial evidence as well as proofs of handing over the projects to the beneficiaries.
President Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, urged States and Local Governments to judiciously use their shares of the ecological fund, strictly for ecological projects towards addressing the ecological problems in their areas.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, told the President that the 554-page publication supervised by the Permanent Secretary, EPO, Dr Habiba Lawal, is aimed at keeping the public abreast of the efforts of the administration in addressing verified ecological problems in ‘‘all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.’’
On the Federal Government share of the Ecological Fund, the SGF explained that the latest sharing formula of the Ecological and Derivation Fund (EDF) as modified allocates 1.00 per cent to the Federal Government, 0.72 per cent to States while the Local Governments get 0.60 per cent.
He added that out of the 1.00 per cent of the Federal Government share, monthly the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gets 20 per cent, National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) 5 per cent, North East Development Commission (NEDC) 10 per cent while the National Agricultural Development Agency (NALDA) receives 10 per cent.