The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has a track record of suing Buhari every three market days. The organisation has dragged the president to court over the embezzlement of ₦1.4 trillion meant for oil refineries, and for his failure to publish the repatriation details of Abacha’s $23 million loot, amongst others. The list of lawsuits is endless and SERAP isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.
The latest lawsuit from SERAP concerns Buhari’s failure to investigate the missing trillions of naira in ecological funds from all levels of government from 2001 to date. The organisation is also demanding punishment for the suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of the funds.
But what’s so important about this ecological fund and how could the missing trillions have helped us? Let’s go to school for a bit.
What’s the ecological fund?
The ecological fund is an emergency or intervention fund set up by the Federal Government in 1981 to address ecological problems in the country. Just think of it as a piggy bank for whenever Nigeria has some serious environmental issues.
Beneficiaries of the fund are the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), or any other projects on the approval of Mr President.
The third option should give a clue as to where the money went to.
How much did we have in the fund?
According to reports from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Nigeria set aside a total of ₦548 billion for the 36 states between 2012 and 2021. However, only ₦277 billion showed up in the fund while ₦74 billion was sent to state governments for their climate needs.
So what happened to the remaining ₦197 billion?
How could the funds have helped Nigeria?
Nigeria’s most pressing ecological problem is floods. In 2022, the country experienced its worst flooding crisis in ten years. These floods claimed over 600 lives and displaced 1.3 million people. Victims in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps suffered from respiratory diseases, as well as cholera and diarrhea.
These funds could have been useful if well utilised for proper healthcare, faster drainage of the floodwaters, and even better grounds for IDP camp facilities.
One thing is sure — if there’s a lack of accountability with public funds, more climate disasters will definitely happen. That’s what SERAP is trying to prevent.
