House Exonerates Agency over Alleged N81.2bn Tree Planting Scandal

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has exonerated the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) over alleged mismanagement of N81.2 billion mismanagement of the Ecological Fund released to the agency.
The Green Chamber exonerated the agency in a report submitted by the 15-man Ad Hoc Committee set up to investigate alleged financial sleaze by the agency, which was sighted by THISDAY.

Recall that the Ad hoc committee chaired by Hon.  Ismaila Dabo, was set up in July, following a motion moved at the plenary by Hon. Ali  Shettima on “the Need to Investigate the Utilisation of Ecological Funds Released to the Great Green Wall by the International Organizations from 2015 to Date; and All federal allocations to the National Agency for the Great Green Wall as well as all Contract Awarded to Various Contractors for the Project from 2019 to Date.”

However, at the inaugural sitting of the Ad hoc Committee, the agency was alleged to have spent the sum of N81.2 billion on the planting of 21 million trees across 11 frontline states, including Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
Checks revealed that the Director General of the agency, Dr. Yusuf Bukar during his presentation before the Committee last September explained that the sum of N53,425,423,874.34 was the amount released to the agency from inception to July 2023, as against the sum of N81.2 billion which the agency was alleged to have spent.

Bukar, who assumed office in April 2022, maintained that the agency has not acted outside its mandate in the implementation of the Programme.
The report said: “Not all of the N53,425,423,874.34 received were used directly on planting activities. The NAGGW cost of planting, from inception in 2015 to July 2023 is N5,145,735,470.15”
“That the approximate sum of N7.2 billion balance in the agency’s account are liabilities already committed to ongoing contracts that have already been awarded.”

“All unutilised funds from capital appropriation are refunded to federal government TSA account at the end of the financial year where applicable.”
The Committee admitted in its report that the evidence from the hearing indicated that the NAGGW received a total sum of N53,425,423,874.34 only from inception in 2015 to July, 2023.
The Committee discovered in its investigation that the agency did not receive budgetary allocation for 2015; while ecological funds were not released to the agency until 2019.

The committee also discovered that the percentage of ecological funding going to the agency was reduced from 15 percent provided for by the Act to just five percent with effect from January 2020 to date.
The committee frowned at unilateral reduction in the statutory allocation to the agency by fiat, and urged government, as a matter of urgency, to revert the Ecological Fund releases to the agency back to 15 percent as provided for by the NAGGW Act.
It said: “That the total sum of N20,168,363,662.18 only being the shortfall of the reduction from Ecological Fund for January, 2020 to date, be immediately released to the Agency to fund its activities;”

The committee recommended that: “Ecological fund office should calculate remit to the NAGGW the total sums due to the agency from the Ecological Fund from 2015 to 2018;
“Urge the National Agency for the Great Green Wall to as a matter of urgency include the frontline states of Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe States in the fourth phase of the Afforestation projects which are to commence soon.”