Environment
Dev Partners Task C’River, Benue On Counterpart Funds
The National Coordinator
of Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborations Councils (WSSCC) Nigeria, Mrs Priscilla Achakpo, has appealed to the Cross River and Benue State Governments to pay up their counterpart funds to expand rural sanitation and hygiene promotion.
Mrs Achiakpa told newsmen in Abuja that it was important for the state governments to pay up their counterpart funds to reduce incidences of possible outbreak of preventable diseases.
She stated that such timely intervention would matchup to the Global Sanitation fund (GSF) of five million dollars to meet the sanitation and hygiene challenges in the country.
“In June 2014, the Benue and Cross Rivers State Governments indicated commitment to match the initial list financing of 5 million dollars .
These funds will expand the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme to three additional Local Government Areas in each state.
“The Federal Government further committed one million dollars to ensure that sanitation facilities are in place in all public places and institutions across the 12 targeted Local Governments.
“At the programme’s mid-point, the Benue and Cross River States are yet to deliver on their . pledges,” she said.
Achakpa said the group had in September 2015 carried out evidence-based advocacy campaigns to Benue state government, saying he confirmed that the counterpart fund was available.
“ One of the things that we must emphasise is the counterpart funding, it is very key.
“In Benue, we visited the governor in 2015, he promised and said the counterpart funding was there, saying we should go ahead and access it.
“We have not been able to visit the Cross River State governor because their commissioners were sworn in only last November.
“Presently, we have not been able to get the funds to enable us scale up access to rural sanitation and hygiene,” she said.
The national coordinator also urged the three tiers of government to encourage policy makers to increase public funding for improved sanitation and hygiene.
She said diseases caused by poor Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) are the world’s leading causes of under-five mortality, saying Nigeria has one of the highest rates of these diseases in Africa.
It would recalls that in June 2014, Nigeria benefitted from the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) of five million dollars to meet the sanitation and hygiene challenges in the country.
The RUSHPIN is an initiative of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the Global Sanitation Fund, the grant giving body of the UN WSSCC.
RUSHPIN represents a landmark transition from the traditional donor-recipient relationship of most development programmes.
The innovation sees international funding matched by national, regional and local funding, setting a framework for replication to achieve the national target of an ODF Nigeria by 2025.
The Ministry of Environment on Thursday in Abuja, advanced its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process, validating a comprehensive plan aimed at tackling climate-related challenges in the country.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Alhaji Mahmud Kambari, said this at the Stakeholders Consultative Workshop on the Development of the concept notes to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for NAP in Nigeria.
Kambari, who was represented by Mrs Victoria Pwol, the Deputy Director in the Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the ministry, said that the workshop is a collective resolve to confront the realities of climate change with purpose, strategy, and coordinated action.
“Over the past years, the Federal Government of Nigeria, with crucial support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has made significant progress in advancing the NAP process.
“As a nation, we stand at a critical juncture where climate risks ranging from extreme weather events to environmental degradation continues to threaten our socio-economic stability, food systems, public health, infrastructure, and national development aspirations.
“Through extensive technical work, we have completed a Climate Risk Assessment across all geopolitical and agro-ecological zones, developed an Economic Appraisal, an Adaptation Finance Strategy, and a robust Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.”
Kambari said that these foundational elements now guide Nigeria to identify priority adaptation needs and investment opportunities.
“Let me mention that we are at the tail end of this NAP Formulation Process and looking forward to the implementation phase.
“This workshop therefore serves as a strategic purpose to harmonise perspectives across key MDAs; refine project ideas into strong, evidence-based concept notes.
“It will ensure that proposed interventions align with national priorities and the investment criteria of the GCF and position Nigeria to competitively access the resources required to strengthen resilience across vulnerable sectors,” he said.
Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the Director DCC in the Ministry said that the engagement would enhance achievements by collaboratively developing bankable, climate-resilient concept notes that align with national priorities and meet the GCF’s investment requirements.
Abiola-Awe who was represented by Dr Jonah Barde in the Ministry said that the workshop represented an important step in Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to strengthen climate resilience.
She added that the workshop would advance sustainable development, and mobilise the climate finance needed to safeguard Nigeria’s communities, ecosystems, and economy from the growing impacts of climate change.
Effective communication, transparency, and science-based risk assessments are the cornerstones of Nigeria’s approach to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
Mr Bello Bwari, the Director-General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), gave the assurance during a media interaction in Abuja on Friday.
“Where there is communication, you reduce conflict. Effective communication is key, effective engagement with stakeholders is paramount and key to making Nigeria better.
Bwari said anti GMO’s critics keep participants and practitioners on their toes.
“We value them and we expect that their criticisms, suggestions and recommendations will make our operations in the entire spectrum better.
“Where we are not doing so well, we will hear from them, where we can advance explanations, we will advance explanations. Where they are not doing well, we will tell them. We will not run away from doing that.
“But I want to assure you that we are bold enough to face anybody who is not fact-based,” he said.
He reassured that sometime before the end of the second quarter of 2026 there would be a retreat where all stakeholders would be invited.
“And also, the impact we are bringing is going to be measurable by the end of 2026. And going forward, what we do by the end of 2026 will form the basis of our five-year plan.
“There’s a five-year plan which will start at the end of 2026. So, I enjoin the media to please report what you know as a matter of fact, not as a matter of opinion.
“We all have different opinions, but some of our opinions are not facts. From the quality of what I see on papers, reportage, I think largely I’m impressed with what the press is doing in Nigeria so far,” he said.
Bwari stated that Nigerians deserved to understand what NBMA regulates, why they regulate it, and how decisions were made.
“Part of my focus going forward will be strengthening engagement with the media, researchers, policymakers, and the public because regulation works best when it is understood.
“We are not promoters of any technology, and we are not opponents of innovation. We are regulators.
“But at its core, biosafety is about prevention, caution, and preparedness. It is about ensuring that innovation does not outpace safety, and that national development never compromises public health or environmental integrity,” he said.
He promised to uphold the law without fear or favour, communicate more clearly with the public and ensure that every regulatory decision was transparent, evidence-based, and accountable
“NBMA is not an advocacy agency. Our duty is to assess risks, enforce safeguards, and ensure compliance with national and international biosafety standards.I also want to emphasise that public trust matters.
He further urged the media to help Nigerians understand biosafety and biosecurity in a better way.
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