Now that the flood fund is coming under probe

Of course, to many Nigerians, this is a welcome development as some of the victims of the 2012 flood have died while others have their lives shattered because they have been forced out of their homes and made to live in makeshift houses.
The Auditor General, Mr Samuel Ukura, speaking at a reception after he was conferred with the title of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), said his office would audit the disaster related funds set up by the federal government.
The special audit would assist government to know how funds made available to these committees were utilised, he said.
“Take for example in 2012, there was flood in almost every state of the federation and in this case, the government just releases money to the people for those things to be done. So this special audit will look at what had happened after the release.”
The 2012 flood, according to government, was unprecedented as it ravaged over 13 states, affected about seven million Nigerians, displaced 2.3 million others and killed over 363 persons. It also damaged and destroyed about 597,476 houses.
The federal government intervened by releasing N17.6 billion to the affected states with the states been classified into different categories, depending on the degree of damage suffered.
Of the N17.6 billion, the states got N13.3 billion while federal government ministries and agencies got N4.3 billion.
The Presidential Committee was able to mobilise over N11 billion to assist the victims and after one year of its activities, the committee was able to increase its fund to about 18 billion.
The committee was inaugurated by Mr President to undertake its task within one year, but it is still working two years after, without being able to alleviate the sufferings of those affected by the floods and in whose interests the money was raised. This development made a lot Nigerians, especially the Civil Society groups, to start making frantic attempt to get the committee to disclose how it expended the money it collected on behalf of the victims.
Last month, a member of the committee said that part of the funds was used by the committee to settle victims of recent disasters and Boko Haram, an activity completely outside the mandate of the committee.
While Nigerians and civil society organisations have adjudged the Presidential Committee a complete failure because of its inability to deliver on its mandate, the cases in the states that got assistance from the federal government to address flood in their state are even worse.
Two years after the incident and after collecting money from the federal government, no state was able to relocate its victims, just as no victim got anything above N5, 000 as compensation for their sufferings in any of the affected states. Most of the victims were given between N2, 500 and N3, 000.
Mr Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive Officer, Connected Development, an Abuja based NGO, said that the decision by the auditor general to look into the flood fund was a welcome development, adding: “It is sad to note that people in various communities affected by the flood did not feel the impact of over N17 billion generated to help them and communities recover from the flood disaster.
 “We, as a Civil Society group, have been able to map out the affected communities and track donated funds to help policy makers and empower citizens and communities to demand justice. That the auditor general is looking into this fund is a step in the right direction.
“We undertook community outreach and discovered that in some states, victims only got N200 or home utilities like blankets. We hope the findings of the special audit will give the relevant agencies the needed information to prosecute culprits and recover whatever was stolen from the intervention fund.”
Olusegun Onigbinde, lead partner, BudgIT said: “It is highly pathetic that despite N17.6 billion that was provided by the federal government and huge donations made by private individuals and international organisations and countries, most victims did not get any tangible support for their rehabilitation. There were cases where local government officers were stuffing the register with fictitious names, benefiting criminally from the crisis. Most state governments who received funds ranging from N250m to N500m have also failed to account for it.
“There were cases of individuals who pronounced bogus donations to the Dangote-led committte but failed to redeem them. This lack of accountability and theft in emergency funds is troubling and evident in the Victim Support Fund instituted by the President and could happen with the Ebola Response Fund if proper accountability structures are not instituted. I think it is right that the auditor-general steps into this and citizens are anticipating an excellent job.”
As Nigerians wait on the auditor general to carry out his audit, we must not forget the pains and sufferings that the victims are undergoing since 2012.