Presidential Committee meets after devastating flood

In an effort to come up with lasting solutions to the devastating flood that has affected 33 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Presidential Committee has been convened to review ongoing efforts to stem the threat.

To this end, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the distribution of 12,000 metric tons of grain to all 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of ongoing efforts to cushion the effects large-scale flooding that killed more than 500 people and affected more than 1.4 million citizens, as well as destroyed several properties and displaced a large number of people in some of the hotspots of the disaster.

The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Habib Mustapha Ahmed revealed this in Abuja, during the commemoration of the year 2022 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) celebrated every October 13 since 1989 in accordance with the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

According to him, the Federal Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Monday convened a stakeholder consultative forum to review the flood outlook and humanitarian dashboard, identify gaps and review vital delivery strategies.< /p>

"As the government agencies responsible for generating and disseminating early warnings, we will continue to review progress and trends in strengthening the effectiveness of early warning and early action. , to examine the contributions of different approaches as well as the applications of lessons learned through the lens of early action,” he noted.

While urging Nigerians to take advantage of the early warning issued by the Agency, he however noted that: “We issued an early warning but people are not heeding this warning. a day of disaster reduction we work so hard to alert the nation when the seasonal climate forecast was released we alerted the whole enation we alerted all states local governments with even the mapping risks, identifying vulnerable areas in time.

“But as God wills, the nation today is where everything is flooded, in 33 states we have lost over 500 lives. We have over 350,000 displaced people. souls of those who are gone rest in peace.

"There's a presidential committee meeting going on right now on the flood. That's what I'm going to attend now and give a presentation on the current situation."

While speaking about various federal government interventions through NEMA, he revealed that: "The President graciously approved 12,000 metric tons of grain, equivalent to 400 trailers that were distributed throughout the country.

"And we are still working on providing relief materials, food and non-food items to every state in the Federation and relief items have gone to all states.

“We are having some issues along Lokoja, I have alerted DSS, Inspector General of Police etc to help clear the way so relief items can continue to get items relief items to all affected states. But the relief items went to all states of the Federation."

For her part, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq revealed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last month approved the National Preparedness and Response Plan in the event of a flood which was drawn up by the Inter-Ministerial Committee, adding that the ministry and all relevant stakeholders are developing a framework for the implementation of the plan.

According to her, the "plan stipulates specific roles and actions for all (including national, state and local governments as well as households, communities and pressure groups). The Ministry considers it important to prevent deaths and loss of life in a disaster that is predicted and occurs every year.

"You are all aware of the widespread floods that have devastated many states, local governments and communities in Nigeria. In fact, the scale of the devastation can only be compared to the floods of 2012. Over 500 lives have been lost, over 1.4 million people affected, approximately 90,000 homes partially or completely destroyed; and counting.

“Thousands of hectares of agricultural land have also been destroyed; heightening fears of a disruption of food supplies in Africa's most populous country. These widespread cases are in 27 out of 36 states and the FCT,” the minister noted.

Also speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Managing Director of the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Alhaji Abbas Idris, expressed the determination of the FCT administration to prosecute property owners blocking waterways.

He said: I don't think it's a blame game, it's about education and enlightenment. And Nigeria...