The Nationwide Financial Council, Nigeria’s highest financial advisory physique, on Thursday beneficial the inclusion of the South East and South-South within the building of dams.
The council additionally backed an earlier Federal Authorities directive mandating the Ministry of Water Assets and Sanitation to begin a complete integrity check of Nigeria’s waterways and dams to mitigate flooding.
The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, revealed this after the 144th assembly of the council chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima on the State Home, Abuja.
Soludo stated that the Minister of Water Assets and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, had briefed members of the council on the FG’s interventions after the disastrous influence of this 12 months’s floods.
Utsev had earlier recognized 148 native authorities areas within the nation spanning 31 States as high-flood-risk areas from April to November 2024.
In accordance with Soludo, after receiving the presentation from the Minister, NEC resolved that “the Federal Ministry of Water Assets and Sanitation ought to conduct an integrity evaluate of all of the waterways and dams throughout the nation.
“There was a critical emphasis on the necessity for a large programme of dredging of the waterways. The council additionally urged governors who haven’t submitted their reviews on the scenario of flooding and administration of their states to take action instantly.
“Council additionally famous that the Inexperienced Local weather Fund ought to have an infrastructure resilient fund part and it was additionally famous that there some crucial elements of the nation which might be very massively ravaged by this flooding, notably the South East/South South which might be fully omitted within the ongoing applications of the development of dams no less than to behave as pace bumps alongside the highways notably within the River Niger,” he stated.
The previous Central Financial institution Governor stated the Council thought-about the nationwide emergency and the responses on the damages and the coordination happening between the States and the Federal Authorities and outlined additional steps that needs to be taken.
“To this point, about 34 States have been affected, 217 native Governments and 1,374,557 individuals already affected and 740,743 individuals have been displaced nationwide and 321 individuals lifeless, 20, 845 injured with 250,800 hectares cultivated farmlands additionally destroyed or affected by the fast floods,” the Governor added.
Throughout his presentation, Utsev knowledgeable the council {that a} technical sub-committee appointed by President Tinubu on October 8, 2024, is enterprise its task and can compile an interim report back to be offered to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for onward transmission to the President.
Soludo stated the council emphasised the necessity for an annual desilting programme for waterways to cut back future flood dangers.
The council additionally urged states which have but to submit their flood influence reviews to take action promptly, because the reviews are important for creating focused aid programmes.
The NEC beneficial that the Inexperienced Local weather Fund embody a Resilience Infrastructure Fund part to assist affected communities in flood-prone areas.
It additionally referred to as for expanded building of dams and flood management methods, notably alongside the Niger River and in heavily-affected areas such because the South-East and South-South.