The Ecological Fund Office (EFO) has sought the support of LEADERSHIP Group towards promoting environmental safety awareness. and activities without misleading the publics.
The permanent secretary of EFO, Dr Hadiza Lawal stated this in Abuja, yesterday, when she received a five-man delegation from LEADERSHIP Group, who were on a courtesy visit to familiarise with the workings of the office.
Lawal stated that with a robust relationship, that EFO would contribute to the body of knowledge and improve good governance in the country, adding that the major mandate of the office is to ameliorate ecological challenges in the country.
She maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved about 218 ecological projects from June 2015 till date, in a bid to ameliorate the impact of flooding and erosion in several communities across the six-geopolitical zones of the country.
Lawal informed that the office had handed over 160 of the projects to various communities while some are at various stages of completion, saying that about 17 projects are undergoing procurement processes.
She noted that the challenge faced by the agency is how to meet the expectations of Nigerians, adding that the existing ecological challenges in the country outweighs the availability of resources.
According to her, “With all the work that we have done, the challenges are enormous. Nigerians are suffering and especially as the raining season is about to set in, communities are worried and concerned about ecological problems.”
She lamented that there is a limit to the office interventions as the available resources are sourced through federal government’s share of ecological derivation, saying that other tiers of government are beneficiaries of the same resources.
The permanent secretary commended the LEADERSHIP team for recognizing and appreciating the workings of EFO, with an assurance to deepen the existing relationship between the two organisations.
Responding, the executive director of Special Duties, LEADERSHIP Group, Mr Christian Ochiama thanked EFO for the existing partnership, which had culminated into editorial business in the past.
He assured that LEADERSHIP is ready and willing to assist in disseminating information to Nigerians on the projects and programmes of the office.
Ochiama added, “We will assist your office in the area of publicity. We will try as much as possible to avoid issues that will malign your office given the existing working relationship between the two organisations”.
