The National Economic Council (NEC) Thursday ordered the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to begin comprehensive integrity reviews of the country’s waterways and dams to mitigate the ravaging impact of flooding.
Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the 145th NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Governor Charles Soludo said the council’s decision was sequel to the presentation by the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Professor Joseph Utsev.
“You know the country is facing the national emergency with regards to flooding and the reports so far identify a major national disaster. We’ve been called upon to note that to date, that about 34 states have been affected, 217 local Governments, 1,374,557 persons already affected.
“And 740,743 were displaced nationwide. 321 persons dead and 2,854 persons injured and 281,000 houses, 258,000 cultivated farmlands also destroyed, or affected by the ravaging flood.
“Council deliberated on the actions, particularly at the sub national level, and got up on the SEMA, the various state emergency management agencies, to up their game and increase the collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.
“Finally, also some resolutions were reached in terms of how we deepen the coordination and the response. First, it was resolved that the Federal Ministry of water resources and sanitation to conduct an integrity review of all the waterways and dams across the country.
“There was serious emphasis and the need for massive programme of dredging, or deselting of the waterways and have a firm programme of continuous deselting almost on annual basis of the waterways.
“The council also urged state governments that have not submitted their flood reports on the status of the flood and the management in their states to do so immediately. Those that haven’t done so. And then, as a recognition Council noted that the Green Climate Fund should have an infrastructure Resilience Fund, component fund.
“And then also, it was observed that there are some critical parts of the country that are massively ravaged by this flooding to violate south east, south south, that are completely omitted, in the ongoing programmes of construction of dams and so on, which are to act as speed bumps along the highway, particularly the river Niger, as it were.
“So, the summary is that council considered the national emergency and the responses of the damages affected, the coordinations that you place especially between the states and the federal and called for further steps to be taken,” he said.
