The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday, revealed that the Federal Government, between 2015 and 2022, completed at least 266 projects.
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said this at the launch of a 554-page compendium of ecological projects undertaken by his regime, shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The statement is titled ‘President Buhari showcases 266 ecological projects completed under his watch, directs MDAS to publicise achievements.’
Buhari also 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.
While directing government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to give adequate publicity to the regime’s achievements in this area, he also revealed that 332 ecological projects were approved since 2015, out of which 266 were accomplished while the remaining 66 are at different stages of completion.
He said, ‘‘The enormity of Nigeria’s ecological problems and inherited infrastructural deficit in general, has the tendency, like the proverbial drop in the ocean, to always drown our achievements in addressing ecological challenges and infrastructural deficit at large.
‘‘It is against this background that publications like the one being launched today, become very important and a useful tool in correcting the negative public perception, that the government has not done anything in addressing these challenges.
‘‘The documentation and publication of these achievements in our modest effort to tackle ecological problems is therefore predicated on our quest to improve communication in governance, as a tool for keeping citizens well-informed and helping them to hold the government accountable. This is the most significant implication of the Ecological Project Office’s initiative in publishing this compendium,” he said.
The President also commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Management Team of the Ecological Project Office, for the judicious use of available resources for the effective implementation of approved projects, as well as the initiative for publication.
Further, Buhari directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to showcase their performance and achievements to the public through the publication in order to leverage the benefits accruable to government from the efforts of the EPO.
He noted that the compendium, which is for the reading pleasure and knowledge of Nigerians, would bridge the information and communication gap between Nigerians and the real-time performance of the regime by portraying the specific locations of ecological projects, with pictorial evidence as well as proof of handing over the projects to the beneficiaries.
He, therefore, 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.
Speaking earlier, SGF Mustapha told the President that the 554-page publication supervised by the Permanent Secretary, EPO, Dr Habiba Lawal, is mean to keep the public abreast of the efforts of the government in addressing verified ecological problems in ‘‘all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.’’
‘‘The Office was established through the Federation Account Act in 1981, primarily to carry out intervention projects nationwide with the Federal Government share of the ecological funds, to address critical ecological problems to supplement States and Local Government shares of the fund,” Mustapha said.
On the Federal Government share of the Ecological Fund, the SGF explained that the latest sharing formula of the Ecological and Derivation Fund 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 monthly share, the National Emergency Management Agency gets 20 per cent, National Agency for Great Green Wall gets 5 per cent, North East Development Commission gets 10 per cent while the National Agricultural Development Agency receives 10 per cent.
He thanked the President for promoting the culture of accountability and for approving the change of name of the Ecological Fund Office to EPO, for its mandate not to be misconstrued by the public.
