Redeem your pledges, Yobe Trust Fund boss appeals to govs

Governors of Plateau, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano, Borno and Yobe states who made pledges to the trust fund in May last year at Jos, to redeem their pledges made at the launch of Hadejia, Jama’are, Kumadougu, Yobe River Basin Trust Fund.

Executive Secretary of the Fund, Dr. Hassan Haruna Bidliya made the appeal when he spoke with newsmen in his offi ce in Damaturu the Yobe state capital.

“I call on the leadership of the member states, the governors, commissioners, and permanent secretaries of ministries of water resources and agriculture as well as environment to redeem the pledges made to us.

“Th is will make to prioritise issues of access to natural resources for people to earn the living instead of waiting for relief materials from government, NGOs and other spirited individuals”, he said.

Despites the hiccups experienced over the years in terms of discharging water to the expected communities, Hassan revealed that the Fund had succeeded in opening up blockages in the inland delta leading to discharging water into the Lake Chad for the fi rst time in twenty years.

He also said the Fund had succeeded in restoring about seven thousand hectares of cultivatable lands that got buried under the tipper grass and made available for communities to cultivate.

Th e Fund, he further revealed, had also created awareness amongst communities to clear water channels on their own as they were also empowered to improve their means of livelihoods.

Th e communities were also advised to provide similar opportunity to those living within the lower course of the Lake Chad Basin.

He said if the pledges were redeemed, it would help the Fund to commence some projects that would improve the lives of the people.

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