The government of Ebonyi State, under Francis Nwifuru, is seeking Federal Government Intervention and the provision of natural disaster funds to enable it to address the challenges posed by natural disasters and their impact on the environment and public funds.
Ebonyi Governor made the appeal on Monday while receiving members of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) who visited for the 2026 National Data Verification Exercise.
Nwifuru revealed that his state has experienced several thunderstorms and storms that damaged public infrastructure and created environmental hazards requiring state intervention. The state does not have the budget for this, hence the appeal to the FG for intervention.
He lamented that a recent severe thunderstorm unroofed a government complex, causing the state to commit scarce resources to its renovation. He believes a Natural Disaster Fund should be taking care of this, not the state coffers, which are limited and overstretched.
Nwifuru also drew RMAFC’s attention to the environmental hazards caused by mining activities in the state. He said abandoned mining pits are posing a great challenge to the state, despite the federal government being responsible for issuing mining rights.
On the data exercise, Nwifuru expressed optimism that the ongoing nationwide Data verification exercise by RMAFC would improve the allocation of funds to the state.
He warned that poor data collection undermines planning and execution at the state level, called for greater accuracy, and thanked the commission for demonstrating competence in its duties.
Henry Awuregu, the leader of the delegation and Ebonyi State Commissioner in RMAFC, said the visit was part of the Commission’s ongoing Data Verification Exercise.
