Chairman, Council of Ministers, Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), and Nigerian Minister of water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu has charged member countries of the LCBC to remain committed to their financial contributions to the LCBC.
The Chairman of the LCBC gave the charge at the 68th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers in Abuja.
Suleiman, said the mission of the LCBC which was tied to improving the quality of lives of member countries around the Lake Chad, was critical and required that “As such, we must commit appropriate resources and make a concerted effort to work together cooperatively toward the fulfillment of LCBC’s mandate and missions.
It would be recalled that the Commission is annually funded by member countries to the tune of $1m for which Nigeria has continually made its contribution of 52% in line with its agreed formula for funding the Commission.
Other member are to contribute Cameroon 26%, Chad 11%, Niger 7 per cent and the Central African Republic 4%.
Nigerian Tribune can report that the Federal government has in the last seven years appropriated over N3bn to what it described as “Contribution to Lake Chad Basin Commission” in the budget since 2017.
The amount is exclusive of the extant expenditure of N129,852,101 contribution of the federal government and the extant proposed amount of N62,037,618.
Before now, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources had gotten the National assembly approval to expend the sum of N1,027,040,323 each for the years 2017 and 2018 under the budget code FMOWR49704666″” and the ERPG30111691″” respectively.
The amount dropped by over 50% in 2019 when the All Progressives Congress (APC), led Federal Government, under the supervision of Engr. Adamu got the approval of the National assembly to expend the sum of N460.894 million as its contribution to the LCBC.
The figure further dwindled to N304 million in 2020, a covid year, and recorded a drop of 34% to the previous year.
With an extant budgetary contribution to the LCBC of N62m, Engr. Suleiman in his farewell speech to the body pointed out that funding was critical for the body to attain its mandate of mitigating climate change, security and other challenges in the Lake Chad area for the population it serves.
His words: “as Member Countries, we must support the LCBC Secretariat in its quest to implement programs and projects dedicated to build resilience and advance sustainable development.
“Unfortunately, the Commission has been facing financial crisis due to the non-payment of financial contributions and arrears of contributions, in line with approved budgets.
“There is an urgent need to tackle and address this persistent challenge to ensure that the executive secretariat delivers on its mandates, especially in implementing the Lake Chad Basin Emergency Development Program (PURDEP) as directed by our Heads of State.
“I would like to use this opportunity to encourage all of you to urgently look into this crucial issue and carry out the needed advocacy in your respective countries in order to meet up to these commitments.
This ordinary session of council of ministers is a great opportunity to not only debate and exchange views on current affairs of the Commission, but also to provide guidance and direction for addressing our common challenges,” Suleiman stated.
Chairman of the 68th session of Ministers of the Lake Chad Basin who called for a minute silence for the soldiers and citizens who lost their lives to terrorists, in the area, said, “I wish to convey my condolences and deepest sympathies to the Troop Contributing Countries and their Nationals for the victims of attacks on the military and the brutal killing and abduction of innocent civilians, including women and children.
“Our thoughts are with those who have suffered losses from these repeated terrorist attacks, as well as from the activities of criminal groups, such as arms and drug trafficking.”
Adamu charged member countries “to direct our actions towards addressing the root causes of the persistent and emerging challenges in the Lake Chad Basin like insecurity, climate change, and desertification.
“The recent flooding that affected almost major towns in the basin indicates that strengthening resilience of our communities and populations to the impacts of extreme climatic events (as a result of climate change) is of utmost importance and urgency.”
In his welcome remark, the Secretary at the 68th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Mamman Nuhu buttressed the call for more funding to the area that contributes to the livelihood of over 30 million people.
According to him, programmes and projects are challenged with the impact of lack of funds, insecurity and climate change.
His words: “We have been confronted with the challenge of restoring stability and lasting peace in the Lake Chad Region as well as finding a sustainable solution to the recurring development deficit in the Lake Chad region.
“The effect of climate change and variability as well as insecurity in the land have had devastating effects on the livelihoods of the over 30 million people and has impacted the rich biodiversity of the basin.
“These factors, and the depressed socioeconomic condition of life in the region, have exacerbated the security challenges confronting us today.
“But for lack of funds, this would have been the right time for the Commission to embark on massive non-kinetic interventions by way of quick impact projects and more durable development projects as its contribution towards the eradication of the threat of Boko Haram in our sub-region.
“It is a truism that military efforts alone cannot solve the problem of insurgency. We have to address the root causes of the insurgency, which is what LCBC has been doing through its projects,” Nuhu solicited.
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