In a bid to ensure the well-being of the citizenry, the House of Representatives committee on Ecological funds has summoned the director general of the Nigerian governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr Asishana Okauru to offer explanations over the alleged misapplication of ecological funds running into billions of naira.

Also summoned by the Mr Ibrahim Isiaka-led committee probing into the issue where the director general of the hydroelectric power producing areas commission (HYPADEC), Alh Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa and his counterpart of the national emergency management agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Ahmed.

Isiaka explained that the decision to summon the aforementioned became pertinent after they failed to offer explanations as to why they accessed ecological funds over the years.

The Ogun state-born lawmakers who decried the abuse of the ecological funds directed the aforementioned, and heads of the federal ministry of health and his counterpart of the Niger Delta ministry to appear before the committee on Wednesday this week.

A director of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Abdulkarim Ibrahim explained that contrary to the widely held notion, the ecological fund had always been shared by the three tiers of government in line with the dictates of the 1999 constitution as amended.

He remarked that the federal account allocation committee (FAAC), ecological funds went on to issue the directive that ecological funds meant for each of the 36 states of the Federation be remitted to their respective dedicated account since 2021 to ensure accountability and judicious usage of the fund.

A director of the Ecological project office, Mr Clinton Igwe explained that his outfit is only preoccupied with the usage of its own share of federal government allocation of the ecological fund tied to specific funds.

Earlier on, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila justified the investigative hearing adding it was aimed at gathering data to design public policy and guide governance decision-making.

He added: “It is not an exercise in witch-hunting or score-settling. For this hearing to have the best outcomes, all relevant stakeholders must engage conscientiously and with respect for each other and the institution of parliament. When the Committee requests information and context, the proper response is to provide what is asked.” (The Guardian)

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