Business
Abia Owes IFAD Programmes N190m Counterpart Fund
The Abia Government is owing N190 million in counterpart funding to the Community-Based Natural Resources Management Programme (CBNRMP), a consultant to the International Fund for Agricultural Development Fund (IF AD), Prof Gabriel Lombin, has disclosed.
Lombin disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during the IF AD-FGN Joint Supervision Mission to the state to assess the implementation of the programme.
He said: “Abia has not been forthcoming in this programme and they owe over N190 million since the inception of the project in 2006.”
“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.”
Lombin expressed regret that the State Programme Support Office (SPSO) lacked project monitoring vehicles.
He, however, applauded the current arrangement that would make the participating local government areas pay their contributions through deduction at source and urged the government to comply with the arrangement.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief Ike Onyenweaku, said that the government was set to re-invigorate its support to all donor-assisted programmes.
Onyenweaku said that IFAD and Fadama-assisted programmes in Abia would be made more result-oriented, adding that government had decided to prioritise agriculture.
Reports say that the programme is being implemented under a counterpart funding arrangement involving the federal, states and local governments as well as the benefitting communities.
The NDDC is also providing additional financial assistance to the programme which is being implemented in the nine states in the Niger Delta region.
They include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Delta, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.
Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.
The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.
Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.
“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.
“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”
Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.
In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.
Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.
Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.
