In a bid to repair erosion and flood areas in the country, the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Fund on Friday, November 1, 2024, assured Nigerians of judicious use of the funds.
The Deputy Chairman of Ecology Fund, Shina Oyedeji, who led the House Committee team, made the assurance while speaking with journalists after the on-the-spot assessment of the erosion areas.
“We have seen quite a lot of areas since the inspection started this morning and the reason why we are here is to do on the spot assessment of ecological challenges and erosion problems.
“Here we are in Lagos, we have seen the devastating impact of erosion coming from climate change and why we need to make use of ecological funds judiciously.
“You were with us when we got to the Ogba area, Haruna and Obawole streets, and this is a very serious problem.
“The reason why we are doing this now is because we want to see how we can change the way we use the ecological fund,” he said.
Oyedeji noted that the ecological problems in the state needed huge amount of money to solve the menace.
“No small amount of money can help any state to solve this problem so we really need to see for ourselves and advise properly on how we can pull more funds to state to actually do what they need to do.
“This is not a job of N20 or 200 million, these are billion of Naira jobs but if we do not see it how do we justify, hence, this is why we are here.
“If funds are coming, it must be to the quality and quantity that is required by those state,” he said.
He, however, warned that this was not the time for an individual to demand for funds on behalf of a community, adding that such should be handled by each state.
“This is not the time when an individual will go to the Federal Government and say I have erosion in my area. They should allow the state whom must have seen for themselves have a list and do what needs to be done.
“We have been to the North, East and South-West, so we are looking at it holistically and we want to see that the fund is judiciously utilised for what it is actually meant for,” he said.
He added that the situation required immediate action.
“This is an immediate thing and the process for that immediate action is why we are here. If it is not going to be immediate, that means we will not be here.
“We really need to let the government know that it is immediate.
“You could see that since this administration, they put a pause on the use of ecological fund because they want these things to happen first before rolling out jobs.
“This is why we are partnering with all the states to say that if you don’t need it, you don’t need to approach the government and if you need it, we want to see that you actually need it,” he said.
Mr Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner For Environment and Water Resources in Lagos State, while speaking with journalists, appreciated the efforts of the house committee for visiting the erosion areas.
“I thank the committee deeming it fit to come to Lagos. We took them to some areas that needed urgent interventions which for us, it is about the collaboration between the state and the federal.
“Ecological and intervention funds to help state bring succor to people fix ecological challenges and I am glad they are here, they have taken stock, they will meet the governor, and we will take it from there,” he said.
The committee went to areas around Ogba, Orimolade area, Ikosi in Ketu and Toll Gate around Ota, among others.
By Henry Oladele
