By Vivian Emoni
The Federal Government promised on Sunday to continue evenly distributing its intervention projects to benefit communities to avoid disputes between states within the same geopolitical zones.
The Permanent Secretary of the Green Projects Office (EPO), Malam Shehu Ibrahim, gave the assurance in a statement issued by the EPO Senior Information Officer, Ms. Amala Obegolu, in Abuja.
Ibrahim urged state and local governments to work together to ensure effective management of their green fund allocations to address green challenges across the country.
He said so while receiving a team from the Veritas University delegation recently on courtesy visits to his office.
He said that the institution’s requests for project intervention have been captured in the office’s database, adding that it was generally the preliminary intervention procedure.
According to him, it is a good step in the right direction and a work in progress. The corresponding actions will be taken based on the merits.
The Permanent Secretary praised the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, and his team for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) offered to the Bwari community.
“I have to commend the university for providing a transformer, building a well, providing a police post and equipping the vigilante group to reinforce security in the community.
“It is also a proactive step to not only calm the community but also give them a sense of belonging. It’s a great intervention for the community,” she said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, called on the EPO to quickly intervene on the threat of erosion around the university and the Bwari community to prevent environmental degeneration.
Ichoku said that the challenge of erosion has not only threatened the university complex but also the entire Bwari community.
He said the university had been involved in minor repair work to deal with the situation, adding that the threat of deep gully erosion is beyond its capacity.
Mohammed Ndarani, from the university, had previously praised EPO for its prompt response to his application letter and appealed for swift intervention in the face of the devastating ecological challenge in his community.
Ndarani said the intervention would add development in the Vinchi community and other surrounding communities in the Lavun local government area in Niger state.
He said that the situation was beyond his capacity, hence the impassioned appeal to the Federal Government through EPO.
Pollution Control EPO Director Mr. Clinton Igwe said the office does not have the resources to handle all of the requests from states.
However, he advised that Nigerians channel their requests to state governments to intervene. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
=========
Edited by Vicente Obi
About the Author
