By Gloria Ikibah
The Federal Ministry of Environment and its agencies have appealed to the House of Representatives for an increase in their budgetary allocations for 2025.
The MDAs stated this during 2025 budget defense session with members of the House Committee on Environment.
The ministry, alongside its agencies i.e the National Park Service, Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) reviewed their 2024 performance and outlined projections for 2025.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Mahmud Kambari, highlighted the ministry’s achievements and noted that a critical challenge was inadequate funding.
The Conservator-General of National Park Service, Ibrahim Goni, reported 2024 expenditures, including ₦4.33 billion for personnel, ₦1.03 billion for overheads, and ₦1.95 billion for capital projects, with ₦633.46 million disbursed and utilized.
He appealed for a ₦5.01 billion intervention in 2025 to address funding gaps, insecurity, and illegal mining. The agency also proposed ₦180 million in internally generated revenue for 2025.
Similarly, Director-General, FRIN, Zacharia Yaduma, asked for increased funding, and cited budgetary constraints and delays in fund disbursement.
Registrar and CEO of EHCON, Dr. Mohammed Baba, concerns about the council’s removal from budgetary allocations as of January 1, 2025, and appealed for its reinstatement.
Responding, the Committee Chairman, Hon. Julius Pondi, assured that the committee would work closely with the Minister of Environment to address EHCON’s funding concerns.