Govs storm Abuja, demand release of ecological funds •Meet Adeosun, Emefiele

SIX state governors accompanied by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, met with the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, demanding the release of accumulated Ecological Fund.

Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, who spoke with reporters at the end of the meeting, said most of the states were currently facing environmental challenges and, as such, could not continue to wait when there was a fund that could be used to address the problem.

He said South-East states were battling erosion, while the South-South and the North were battling with the issue of oil spill and desertification respectively.

“We are concerned seriously about the environment. The desertification in the North,  oil and gas spill in the South-South and erosion in the South-East. We have a lot of funds in the ecological stabilisation funds and those funds are not being discussed at National Economic Council (NEC). What we discuss at NEC is usually briefing on excess crude account and the federation account.

“So we will like to have this fund every month, because those funds are federation funds and we are having so many problems. We need the money,” he said.

When asked if the states are also requesting for fresh bailout from the Federal Government, Yari said there was no such request.

He said the states were only asking for the disbursement of the fund to address the level of environmental degradation in their respective states.

Other state governors who accompanied Yari were Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta and Aminu Masari of Katsina.