Chairman, House Committee on Environment makes case for the strengthening of EFO to improve on ecological projects’ implementation.

[FMINigeria]

                        The Chairman, House Committee on Environment, Hon. (Mrs) Uche Lilan Ekunife has advocated the restructuring of Ecological Fund Office that will entail creating additional Departments of Engineering, Procurement and Finance for the Office.

This, according to the Chairman, will enhance the capacity of EFO to ensure efficient project implementation and timely payment for job done to deserving contractors and consultants.

The House Committee Chairman made this call on Monday, 22nd July, 2013 while leading a 10 –member delegation of her Committee to the Ecological Fund Office, as part of its oversight functions.

Mrs Ekwunife at the occasion, also publicly commended the management of the Ecological Fund Office for the recent changes introduced by the Office in areas of improved data bank, regular monitoring of projects and fast tracking of payment processes, in order to fulfil the purposes for which such projects were sited.

Chairman House Committee on Environment – Hon. (Mrs.) Uche Ekwunife with the Permanent Secretary Ecological Fund Office- Engr. Goni Musa Sheikh during an Oversight Function visit to EFO on 22nd July 2013 According to the Chairman, there is need to improve on the engagement of competent contractors and consultants because of findings by the Committee during oversight visits to projects' sites, where they discovered that many projects were being handled by incompetent contractors; and that there were also instances of faulty designs by consultants.

Mrs. Ekwunife called for urgent engagement of a competent contractor of Julius Berger pedigree to handle the Nanka-Oko landslide project in order to permanently address this serious ecological problem that had destroyed many houses in Oko, and is presently threatening the house of the traditional ruler of the community. She said the fact that a one- time Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme hails from Oko, one of the endangered communities should ginger the immediate resolution of the problem.

The Chairman who pledged her Committee's continuous support and monitoring of ecological projects in the country asked that the contractor handling the cactus opuntia contract which was a component of the National Forestation Programme in six States of the Federation, be brought to book for his failure to deliver after being paid millions of Naira.

While welcoming the Committee Members to his Office, the Permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund Office, Engr. Goni M. Sheikh thanked the Committee for its support, guidance and collaboration in the quest to ensure that executed ecological projects are not only completed on time, that they also give value for money and address the problems of the communities where they are sited.

He informed members that following representations to his Principals, the EFO has secured approval for the establishment of a Project Unit that will have complements of Engineers and other professionals, which will enhance the capacity of the Office to carry out thorough monitoring of projects.

He informed the Committee that the EFO now has an improved data base that helps in project information storage and retrieval. He also added that joint monitoring of projects by relevant stakeholders has now replaced independent monitoring of the past, thereby reducing delay in payments to contractors and consultants.

He also assured the Committee that a recent monitoring of the South East projects showed that some are ready for commissioning while others are at various stages of completion; noting as well that necessary steps are being taken on a few contractors that appear to lack capacity to deliver.

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