Abia Owes N190m Counterpart Fund On IFAD-Assisted Projects

The Joint IFAD/FGN Supervision Mission to Abia has described the state’s implementation of the Community-based Natural Resources

Management Programme (CBNRMP) as unimpressive due to the non-payment of its counterpart fund totalling N190 million.

Our correspondent reports that the programme is currently being implemented in the nine states of the Niger Delta region comprising Abia, Akwa

Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.

The programme is being financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with a counterpart funding arrangement involving the Federal, state, and local governments as well as the benefitting communities.

The NDDC is also providing financial support to the programme. It was gathered that due to non-payment of counterpart funds, the number of

participating local government areas in Abia was scaled down from nine to three.

Prof Gabriel Lombin, a consultant to IFAD, leading the supervision team, said during an interaction with the state government officials in Umuahia that Abia had not been forthcoming in meeting its counterpart fund obligation since 2006 when the programme started.

“Abia has not been forthcoming in this programme and it is owing more than N190 million since the inception of the project in 2006.

“The state was keyed into the programme because IFAD officials thought it had the potential to perform well, but so far their performance is not impressive.

“The government needs to show the political will and support which have beenlacking, because we want Abia to take the lead in this programme.

“This is free money coming from the international community, the Federal Government and the NDDC and the government should assist its people to benefit from it,” he said.

Lombin expressed regret that the State Programme Support Office lacked project monitoring vehicles, adding that those available were being used by other government

functionaries.

He, however, applauded a new arrangement that would make the participating local government areas pay their contributions through deduction at source, adding that the state government

should also comply.

Responding, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief Ike Onyenweaku, said that the state government was set to reinvigorate its relationship with all agricultural agencies in the

state.

He said that the CBNRMP and Fadama programmes would be made more result-oriented, as the government had decided to give agriculture serious attention.

Onyenweaku said that the government was considering re-enlisting the six local government areas that were dropped from the programme.

Meanwhile, Mr Mark Ezeala, the State Programme Officer said that three participating local governments had commenced instalmental payment of their

counterpart funds.

He said that the affected council areas were expected to remit N2 million monthly.