Akwa Ibom, Rivers, may lose € 200m EU-water sanitation project

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has urged Rivers and Akwa Ibom state governments to pay up their 30 per cent counterpart funding for the European Union (EU) water projects.


Usani who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, yesterday, explained that if both states fail to comply by the end of January, they run the risk of losing over € 200m grant.

He said that five states were captured in the current phase of water and sanitation intervention development by the EU.
“Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states have paid their 30 per cent counterpart fund of N350m each, while Rivers and Akwa Ibom are yet to pay,” Usani pointed out, adding that both states have also used up the extension of time granted them.
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According to him, such grace has been explored thrice between 2012 and 2015, hence no such grace is available in accordance with EU rules.

“The ministry would physically meet with the defaulting governors to ensure that the states fulfill their part of the agreement,” said Uguru, who also disclosed that Delta, Edo and Bayelsa state governments had shown interest in providing more counterpart funds than stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to widen the scope of the projects in their respective states.