The Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, (EPO), Dr. Habiba Lawal, has stated that the Federal Government through the office will continue to do all it can within the available resources to address the enormous and critical ecological challenges facing the country, stating that the office is inundated daily with barrage of requests for assistance which are clearly beyond the resources allocated to the office monthly.
She made the disclosure during a courtesy visit by the Chairman, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State. Hon James Thomas to her office today, Wednesday, 18th May, 2022.
The Permanent Secretary , explained that though the Federal Government may not be able to address all the ecological problems in the country, it will however continue to intervene in critical cases across the states of the federation. She stated that Karu Local Government Area has benefited from some of the interventions considering the enormity of its ecological challenges and the pressure on its infrastructure by neighbouring Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Dr. Lawal explained that the office receives only 55% of the 1% allocation from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), which she said was grossly inadequate to address the over 1,800 requests from Communities, organizations, individuals etc to her office at the moment. She added that the Government deploys the funds to specifically critical ecological problems across the states of the federation.
The Permanent Secretary appealed to beneficiaries to continue to utilize the funds for the purpose it is meant for, while the office will continue in the advocacy and education of its operations.
In his remarks the Chairman of Karu Local Government Area, ably represented by the Deputy Chairman, Lawal Yakubu Karshi, commended the Federal Government through the EPO for its intervention to Karu, but pleaded for more interventions. He said some of the pending challenges include: erosion control and bridges linking basic economic areas within the Local Government Area.
Eno Olotu (Mrs.)
DD Press/ Head, Public Relations Unit
