During an investigative hearing into the ‘Utilisation of ecological funds released to the National Great Green Wall from 2015 to date’, the House of Representatives revealed documents showcasing how the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) purportedly expended a staggering N81.2 billion for the planting of 21 million trees across 11 frontline states.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The 11 states involved are: Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno….CONTINUE READING
Lawmakers, speaking during the hearing, expressed their dissatisfaction with the conflicting financial reports presented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (oAGF), and the Agency. They raised concerns about various expenditures carried out during the review period.
After closely scrutinizing the documents submitted to the Ad-hoc Committee, lawmakers noted that sums of N697.372 million, an additional N500 million, and N480.657 million were spent on office accommodation renovation, while N11.28 billion went to capital projects.
The Agency also claimed ownership of projects conducted by lawmakers under Constituency Projects, besides excluding three states from the tree planting endeavor.
The lawmakers further questioned the rationale behind retaining multi-billion naira in the Agency’s account for several years without adhering to extant financial regulations and returning unutilized funds to the government’s treasury.
Expressing dissatisfaction, lawmakers pointed out that the Agency had not undertaken any financial audits since its inception. They criticized the substantial amounts allocated to capacity building and other areas that deviate from the Agency’s core mandates as defined in the Act.
Amid concerns about the Agency’s inability to provide sufficient evidence for most of its tree planting projects, lawmakers shared their independent findings that indicated 80 percent of the trees planted did not survive.
Recalling an incident in 2015, it was uncovered that N1 billion belonging to the Agency was fraudulently laundered by some officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
However, this amount was later recovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC), who identified illicit transactions in collaboration with financial banks and Bureau de Change.
Documents submitted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), dated August 22, 2023, with Reference No: BKS/CSO/CON/NASS/005/082, showed that a total of N9,465,960,382.57 was maintained in the Agency’s account from 2015 onwards.
Samuel Okudere, Director of CBN, revealed that out of seven opened accounts, only one was a mandated account, during his presentation.
