During a session on Wednesday, the House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee responsible for investigating the utilization of Ecological Funds and other intervention funds for the Great Green Wall Project raised questions regarding the National Agency for Great Green Wall’s (NAGGW) claim of having spent N81 billion on planting 21 million trees in the northern frontline states. These states encompass Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno.
Yusuf Maina Bukar, the Director-General of NAGGW, informed the committee that the agency had also allocated N697.71 million for office accommodation renovations and N11.28 billion for capital projects. He clarified that the agency’s primary funding was derived from 15% of the Ecological Funds, federal allocation, and other sources.
In addition, the committee inquired about seven accounts held by the Central Bank of Nigeria. A document submitted by the CBN, dated August 22, 2023, revealed that a total of N9,465,960,382.57 had been deposited in the agency’s account from 2015 to the present.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, represented by Deputy Director Irene Nwangwu, stated that the NAGGW had received a sum of N19,377,726,506.95 from the Derivation & Ecology Accounts between February 2019 and now. Furthermore, the agency had obtained N11.023 billion for capital expenditure through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Nwangwu noted that former President Muhammadu Buhari had sanctioned the release of N2.309 billion to the agency as the 2020 statutory 5% Ecological Fund.
Committee Chairman Isma’ila Haruna Dabo and other members expressed dissatisfaction with the NAGGW’s expenditures, considering the limited results achieved. They also pointed out that the agency had strayed from its primary mandate.
Dabo remarked, “Projects like the Great Green Wall, under investigation here, were primarily designed to address some of these issues. The persistence of these challenges, despite the substantial funds allocated by both the federal government and international partners, has necessitated this investigation. In recent years, we have witnessed a significant increase in natural environmental challenges such as land degradation, deforestation, desertification, and drought, often attributed to climate change.”