Flooding is one of the most devastating and dreaded forms of natural disasters that man contends with. In most cases, it is caused by heavy rainfall which causes rivers to overflow their banks.
Flooding can also be precipitated by human activities such as blockage of water channels with illegal structures and refuse, as well as periodic release of water from dams.
The flooding of towns and villages across the country this year was generally blamed on heavy rainfall and climate change. This generated arguments from many quarters that ecological challenges such as flooding could be mitigated with proper planning and proactive actions.
The derivation, ecology, otherwise known as Ecological Fund, is the 2.3 per cent of monthly accrual derived from the Federation Account. The fund was established through the Federation Account Act of 1981 based on the recommendation of the Okigbo Commission.
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Subsequently, it was modified through Decree 36 of 1984 and Decree 106 of 1992, as well as the Allocation of Federation Account Modification Order of 2002.
The prime objective of the initiative is to have a pool of funds that will be solely devoted to funding emergency ecological challenges in the country.
Presently, the fund is shared among the federal state and local governments, including the FCT. Out of the 2.3 per cent, the federal government takes 1 per cent; state governments 0.72 per cent and local government areas 0.60 percent.
It is instructive that four federal agencies take the chunk of the 45 per cent accruing to the federal government from the Derivation Ecology Fund. These are the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), with 20 per cent; National Agency for the Great Green Wall, with 5 per cent; the North East Development Commission (NEDC), with 10 per cent and the National Agriculture and Land Development Authority (NALDA), with 10 per cent, thereby leaving the Ecological Project Office (EPO) with 55 per cent.
It is necessary to recall that at the federal level, the management of the Ecological Fund was initially handled by the National Committee on Ecological Project, which was bedevilled with numerous challenges before it was moved to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) to advice the president on the disbursement and management of the fund.
Indeed, there is a general misconception on the management of the fund. Recently, an NGO, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), wrote an open letter to the president to question the disbursement of the fund. Among several allegations and insinuations, SERAP claimed that the ecological funds were shared across the three tiers of government contrary to records that the fund was domiciled and disbursed by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
It is on record that the federal government in 2021 renamed the coordinating office the EPO in line with its functions and ensured that state and local governments get their shares directly from the Federal Ministry of Finance to facilitate quality, timely and efficient approval of projects across the country.
There is no doubt that an effective management of EPO will drive the federal government’s policy on ecological interventions and sustainability to mitigate the ecological challenges in many communities across the country.
Now, with a new management at EPO, there is no doubt that the federal government is determined to strengthen and reposition the office for effective service delivery, especially in mitigating flooding in Nigeria.
However, the state and local governments must brace up to work in synergy with the national policy being pursued by the federal government. This will help to establish a workable national strategy that will facilitate quick response and intervention in ecological challenges across the country.
The completion of over 260 ecological projects across the six geo-political zones by the Buhari administration is a testimony to the judicious use of the funds accruing to the EPO in recent times.
Moreover, the setting up of a Presidential Committee for the Development of a Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Prevention of Flood Disasters in Nigeria will no doubt provide a durable platform to plan for emergencies.
For the country to meet the desired expectations in the control and quick intervention during disasters such as flooding, sub-national governments must be proactive and apply their resources judiciously in line with national emergency policies.
Tajudeen Kareem wrote from Abuja
