The Nigerian Government through the Ministry of Water Resources has proposed the establishment of a National Flood Management Council, NFMC to be domiciled in the office of the Vice President of Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja the Nations Capital, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Management of Floods and Disasters in Nigeria, Sulieman Adamu, explained that the council’s primary responsibility would be to advise the President on all matters related to flood management, including the declaration of a State of Emergency based on the categorization of floods.
Adamu who is the Minister of Water Resources said that flooding was the most common and expensive natural disaster in the world.
He said that mitigation projects, which encompassed a range of preventive solutions, were the most cost-effective strategy for decreasing flood risk.
The Minister noted that presently, “no centrally coordinated mechanism was available for flood mitigation, adaptation, response, and recovery in the country.”
Adamu however stressed the need for an institutional arrangement for the coordination and implementation of the Strategic Plan through a relief fund from alternative sources.
He said; “The Federal, State and Local Governments have not invested adequately in flood management infrastructure; instead, they invest on post-disaster projects.
The Minister further said that the President on the advice of the NFMC, shall declare a State of Emergency when a category 4 ’Major flood’ flood occurs.
“ Following a series of situational studies, analysis, field evaluations and key stakeholders’ interactions, the presidential committee identified 10 key strategies to address the incessant flooding across the country.”
“The key Strategies are as follows, Data Acquisition for integrated flood management, coordinated multi-sectoral flood early warning system, development of capacity on flood management, development and management of flood plains.” amongst others,”Adamu said.
The Minister however said that there was no short term in flood mitigation and that the estimated cost of implementing the 10 strategic plans is N3.460 Trillion Naira.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari had mandated the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, to fashion out ways to prevent flood disaster in Nigeria within 90 days.
This, he said, led to the formal inauguration of the Presidential Committee for the Development of a Comprehensive Plan of Action for Preventing flood disaster in the country in November 2022.
According to the “National Emergency Management Agency, 363 lives were lost, 5,851 injured; 3,891,314 affected, and 3,871,530 displaced due to the resulting floods in 2012.”
Reports have shown that in 2022 flood, over 1.4 million people were displaced, 665 reported dead and thousands injured.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
