THE Presidency on Sunday assured that of the timely release of the Ecological Fund to states to address pressing ecological challenges in their localities.
According to a statement made available to State House correspondents in Abuja, this was disclosed by the Senior Special Assistant to the president on media, Garba Shehu, on Hannu Ya Dawa, an audience participation programme on FRCN Kaduna.
He pledged that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would continue to assist flood victims across the country.
He said: ‘‘The Buhari administration wills under no circumstance abandon its humanitarian obligations to alleviate the distress of flood victims.
‘‘In spite of Nigeria’s technological limitations and the paucity of funds to handle or manage large scale and complex emergencies, the APC administration will leave no stone unturned in offering succor to victims of natural disasters across the country.”
Signed by Attah Esa, Deputy Director (Information) State House, the statement said it is the right of citizens to demand the judicious use of the Fund, which is distributed among the three tiers of government from the Federation Account.
It further quoted the presidential aide as saying: ‘‘the largest chunk of the Fund goes to the States and Local Governments. Every month, States and Local governments receive 1.4 per cent from the Federation account as Ecological Fund, compared to the Federal government’s share of 1 per cent.
‘‘From the 1 per cent the FG gets, NEMA takes 20 per cent for its operation.’’
Shehu noted that lately, disaster management in the country is gradually being ceded to the Federal Government by other tiers of government.
He added: ‘‘Whenever there is an emergency from natural or man-made disasters, all you hear is ‘where is Buhari, what is he doing? What happens with the other tiers of government?”
‘‘Nigerians, at the state and local governments, should demand transparency and accountability in the management of ecological funds by their Governors and local government chairmen.
‘‘Without accountability by local political leaders, the Federal government would continue to be the scapegoat for the failure of states and local governments to use ecological funds for the purposes they were released.”
Shehu said the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation has also been mandated to step up the provision of relief infrastructure to those in need.
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On fertilizer, the media aide revealed that the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) will deliver 4 million bags of 50kg Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) fertilizer to farmers, at an affordable price, before the end of the year.
He said the 11 fertilizer blending plants in the country will be increased to 18 by the end of the year; which will, in turn, provide direct employment to no fewer than 50,000 Nigerians.
Shehu said the projected delivery of the commodity (4 million bags of fertilizer) by December is in addition to the six million bags of 50kg fertilizers already sold to farmers since the Initiative commenced early this year.
He further stated: ‘‘The problem of the shortage of fertilizers and its attendant high cost plaguing the nation’s agricultural production, seemingly intractable for decades, have been resolved following the successful execution of the mandate of the PFI.
‘‘Since the implementation of the Initiative, the six million 50kg bags of NPK fertilizers were purchased by State governments and agro-dealers across the country.’’
The presidential spokesman noted that the production of locally-blended fertilizer had saved the Federal Government about $150 million this year, hitherto spent on foreign exchange; and N60 billion in budgetary provisions for fertilizer subsidy.
He added that the successful implementation of the PFI had made fertilizer available to Nigerian farmers at affordable prices and in time for the 2017 wet season farming.
‘‘Last year, Daily Trust newspaper reported that a bag of 50kg NPK fertilizer was sold at N10, 900 in Benue State. Today the same commodity is being sold at about N6, 500 in different locations across the country, while the government-approved price is N5, 500.
Quoting the same newspaper report, Mallam Shehu noted that a bag of maize which was sold at N21, 000 last year is currently being sold at an average of N10, 000.
‘‘This is an indication that the Initiative has enhanced food security as a result of the increase in food production. There is also a reduction in food-induced inflation while economic activities across the agriculture value chain are very impressive,’’ he said.
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