The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to promptly investigate the spending of billions of naira from the Ecological Fund collected by Borno State since 2001, including the N816 million collected by the State between January 2024 and June 2024.
In an issued statement yesterday, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation maintained that suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of ecological funds should face prosecution if sufficient admissible evidence is found, and that any proceeds of corruption should be fully recovered.
SERAP also urged Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to urgently identify and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for affected victims in Borno State.
SERAP further urged Tinubu to instruct the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to collaborate with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to track and monitor the spending of the Ecological Fund by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, all 36 state governors, the 774 local government areas, as well as all emergency management agencies across the country funded through the Ecological Fund.
SERAP added that other States and the FCT, Abuja, also receive monthly funds from the Ecological Fund, noting that trillions of naira have been budgeted over the years through the Ecological Fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems.
