Flood
By Salisu Sani-Idris
The National Economic Council (NEC) has directed all the states of the federation to submit details of damage caused by the recent flooding in the country by Monday.
Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa made this known while briefing state house Correspondents at the end of the 144 NEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa Abuja, on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NEC meeting was presided by its Chairman, Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
Recent data by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicates that lives have been lost, with thousands of hectares of farmlands damaged and thousands of people displaced by floods across the country.
Sule, who explained that the issue of the recent flooding in the country was extensively discussed during the council’s meeting, revealed that the flood committee had been reconstituted.
According to him, the flood committee has to be reconstituted and the new members of the councils are governors of Kogi, Oyo, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Bayelsa and Jigawa states.
” Others are Minister of Water of Resources, Minister of state Water of Resources, Minister of State for Environment, Director-Generals of the Nigeria Sovereignty Investment Authority (NSIA), NEMA, NiMet and others.
” The council also has decided that Monday will be the deadline for all the states of the federation to submit details of damages including farms, schools and bridges that have been affected by the last flood.
” The Chairman of the council mentioned that it will be taken into consideration for appropriate support to the various states,” Sule said.
Earlier, Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, said governors acknowledged the support of the Federal Government by releasing N3 billion as a small measure to ensure that governors provide palliation for the flood victims.
According to him, the flood was more devastating along the North East axis where the major artery between Kano and Maiduguri have been cut off wit household, schools and means of livelihood affected.
“That has really provided big challenge to us as a government, as a people and as a state because we need to provide more of food security.
” And some of the farm lands are already submerged and therefore there will be a need for collaboration between all the tiers of government to ensure food security.
” The need for planning, collaboration and interaction to do that during the harvest time because the harvest may not be as we envisaged in terms of the bumper harvest that we are expecting.”
Mohammed emphasised the need for a stronger collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and all sub nationals to ensure that something comprehensive was done.
” I know there has been a lot of devastation and we have been asked to give an inventory of destruction before Monday.
” But other measures of governance in terms of governance structure has been established by council,” he said. (NAN)
