The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Flood Management and Response, Hon. Midala Balami, has described flooding as a recurring national emergency with devastating consequences for lives, property, and livelihoods across the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee in Abuja, Balami said flooding was “no longer a seasonal inconvenience but a national emergency that demands urgent, coordinated, and strategic action.”
He emphasized the need for a comprehensive national framework covering prevention, early warning systems, emergency response, community resilience, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen represented by the House Leader, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, expressed concern over corruption in flood management, accusing some states and local governments of misusing ecological funds.
He stressed that the floods affect communities at the grassroots, not the National Assembly or the Presidency, and called for accountability from state and local governments.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Humanitarian and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, disclosed that nearly three million Nigerians had been displaced by floods, with poverty worsening in the North.
He warned that a $36 billion global funding gap had forced the suspension of food aid to 1.3 million Nigerians, including 300,000 children, and said the Federal Government is expanding social investment programmes and offering farmers interest-free loans to cushion the impact.
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