House Committee on Ecological Fund Visits Gombe, Pilot State for Environmental Solutions

The House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Fund has visited Gombe State for an impact assessment of areas affected by ecological challenges, such as erosion and the likes.

 

The team toured several gully erosion sites across the state to assess the extent of increasing threat of gully erosion and assessed the commitment of Gombe state government on the mitigation projects, as part of oversight visit to beneficiary states of the Ecological Fund.

 

The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Aminu Sani Jaji announced that Gombe State had been selected for the pilot project of the Ecological Fund Office, where substantial funds would be allocated to the states to tackle the problem of flooding in some local governments.

He commended the Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, for his administration’s proactive efforts in addressing the ecological challenges confronting the state, particularly those related to gully erosion and climate change.

 

Mr. Jaji remarked that Gombe State Government had shown true commitment in addressing the effects of climate change.

 

“Your Excellency, the efforts we’ve seen here are truly commendable. Gombe is the only place where we’ve seen a clear, tangible commitment from the state government in addressing ecological and climate change challenges,” Mr. Jaji remarked.

 

He guaranteed that the committee would instruct the relevant agencies under its authority to collaborate with the state in executing its ecological control projects, while expressing confidence that with continued focus, Gombe could set an example for other states grappling with similar issues.

 

Mr. Jaji also gave the assurance that the committee would ensure that the template used by Gombe State was adopted by the Federal Government for implementation in other states with similar challenges.

Addressing the committee, Governor Yahaya pointed out that Gombe, being part of the vulnerable Sahel region, was at high risk of desertification and severe environmental degradation.

 

He said his administration had adopted a multi-faceted approach to mitigate the challenges, including afforestation programmes, flood control initiatives and strategic partnerships with federal agencies and international organizations.

 

Governor Yahaya said significant strides had been made by his administration in addressing the ecological problems in Gombe State.

 

You may be aware that Gombe has over 214 active gullies spread across the 11 local governments. These gullies negatively impact our environment and the lives of our people. For this reason, upon assuming office in 2019, we made erosion control a cardinal agenda of our administration”, the Governor stated.

 

He highlighted that his administration had always been proactive on the issue of climate change mitigation and environmental conservation, with the development of environmental sustainability initiatives captured in the 10-year development plan, which he said was in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

The Gombe State Governor also informed the House Committee members that since 2019, his government had adopted a 1 million annual tree planting programme, known as Gombe Goes Green, where one million trees are planted each year across the state.

 

He informed the House Committee members that since 2019 also, his administration had kept to the counterpart funding obligation between the state government and partner bodies such as NEWMAP and ACReSAL, but that a lot more needed to be done.

 

The Governor, however, stated that with continued support from the Federal Government and relevant agencies, Gombe State would overcome the challenges and safeguard its environment for future generations.

 

He gave the assurances that his doors were open for partnership with any stakeholder willing to support the state in addressing the challenges.

 

Lateefah Ibrahim