The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the massive deforestation and alleged corruption in the management of the environment has issued a summons to the management of the National Ecological Fund over the non-implementation of the N9.3billion clean cooking stove project.
Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Bede Eke (PDP, Imo), directed that a letter of summons be immediately sent to the Ecological Fund Office and the Department of Deforestation and Desertification in the Federal Ministry of Environment as the two departments jointly worked on the implementation of the project.
Eke further demanded for the list, addresses and details of the amounts paid to each of the contractors engaged by the Forestry department of the ministry to implement the tree planting intervention by the Federal Government in 24 states of the federation and FCT.
The lawmaker also queried the documents submitted by the Acting Director of Forestry, Michael Osakuade, and asked why the minister of Environment Ibrahim Jibrin and the Permanent -Secretary of the ministry failed to appear before the Committee.
Osakuade had told the Committee that the minister and the permanent secretary directed him to represent them at the hearing because they had made earlier appearances and did not have new information to give.
Meanwhile, the Committee chairman demanded for an updated report on the amount spent so far on tree planting project and details of the survival rate of the tree planted since 2011.
The lawmaker also queried the sum of N200 million allegedly spent by the Department of Forestry on capacity building.
“There are issues with the implementation of these contracts, we have the Auditor General’s report; we have the ICPC’s report bothering on the activities of the Ministry.
“For you to say, there are no additional report to give us means you are saying we should just pack up and when we write an indicting report, you will say you were not given fair hearing”, Eke said.
In his explanations however, Osakuade, said that the afforestation project ran into problems because of untimely release of funds, while apologizing for the absence of minister and permanent secretary.
He told the lawmakers that the National Council on Environment in 2011, resolved that each of the 24 states and FCT be allowed to engage NGOs and Tree Planters to take over the seedlings procured by the Forestry department.
Clarifying on the N9.3 billion cooking stove project, Osakuade who denied any involvement said, the project was executed by the Ecological Fund.