Charles Udoh, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, has accused the ecological office of refusing to release funds to the state for ecological and disaster management.

Mr Udoh made the disclosure while speaking in an interview in Uyo on the state’s utilisation of ecological funds.

He said that Akwa Ibom had not been receiving funds from the federal government for multifarious ecological challenges in the state.

The commissioner disclosed that the state had made several efforts to get the attention of ecological funds office but to no avail.

“We have submitted designs to that office but nothing positive has come out yet, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up,” he said.

Mr Udoh stressed that the state was making efforts to ensure that it would get a meaningful response from the ecological office.

He noted that ecological problems resulted from flooding, erosion and pollution.

“Erosion has not been friendly; flood has been there even though it is globally. Flood prediction level will go up this year like we have witnessed,” Mr Udoh said.

The commissioner added that the ecological problems facing the state were due to the peculiarity of its location in the Mangrove Savannah region.

(NAN)