About 27 states have shunned the invitation of the panel set up by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to probe the ecological funds.
The states are Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue, Borno and Cross-River.
Others are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa , Delta, Edo , Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe and Imo.
This was disclosed in an interim report of the Case Conferences on Systemic Investigation into Federal Government Funded Ecological Projects in States which was held from July 31 to August 16, 2023.
The committee however observed that the stakeholders in the Ecological Funds value chain were not operating on the same page, which resulted in citizens complaining of low or no impact of the Ecological Fund in the Communities.
According to the committee, there were discrepancies in the figures quoted by the state representatives from the records of receipts as inflows from the Ecological Fund disbursed to them with the figures obtained by the Committee at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
The committee further noted the figures quoted by the state representatives were lower than the figures obtained from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation by the Committee.
“Thirty six (36) State governors were invited to send their representative to come and make representations on the subject matter. However eight (8) State governors in the order of Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, Ondo, Rivers, Yobe and Taraba States sent their representatives.
“One State Governor, Katsina State sent their apologies for their inability to honour the invitation due to reasons beyond their immediate control.
“Twenty – seven (27) States in the order of Abia, Adamawa , Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa , Delta, Edo , Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue, Borno and Cross-River states did not send their representative to the Case Conferences”, the committee noted.
The committee however recommended that the Special Purpose Committee would investigate further into the causes of the lack of harmony between the amount obtained at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the amount received by the states as ecological funds to unravel the cause of the discrepancies.
Furthermore, the committee added that states that were unable to send representatives would be given the opportunity to come and make their presentations.
The committee also called on states to submit comprehensive information to the Honourable Federal Commissioners in the States for onward transmission to the Committee.
