By Passman Akpos
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed an immediate Action Plan to halt the impending flood crisis nationwide.
Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Media & Communications, Office of the Vice President, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Tinubu, represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, made the charge during an emergency meeting at Aso Villa in Abuja.
The President set up a committee to be headed by Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, with a 7-day timeline to deliver a report.
“Based on the submissions by the DG of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, the situation is not that terrible, but to be forewarned is to be forearmed. The submissions by the other relevant stakeholders are equally poignant, and we can’t afford to take chances.
“Though the situation is not as bad as we might think, we need to set up a committee so that the report of the Presidential Committee and the 2022 Federal Executive Council – approved broad preparedness plan should be harmonised and implemented immediately,” the Vice President stated.
Shettima noted that a feasible roadmap would address the flood crisis in Nigeria, adding that responsibilities would be shouldered by the North East Development Commission (NEDC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Federal Government.
He stated: “I deliberately invited the NEDC and NDDC so that whatever resources that NEMA has, they have to be released to the states so that they can start making preparations for any eventuality.
“Based on the Presidential directive, I will meet with the NEDC and NDDC chief executives for states under their coverage. There should be interventions from them.
“For NEDC, they can take care of Taraba, Bauchi and Adamawa. For NDDC, they can take care of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Cross River. For states like Ebonyi, Kogi and Benue, we will mobilise from our savings and deploy the same to assist them. We have to share responsibilities and hence the immediate need for implementing the roadmap.”
The development comes days after the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a flood alert to Nigerians in nine states- Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Taraba.
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