President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Water Resources to lead and coordinate with the Ministries of Environment and Transportation as well as State governments to develop a comprehensive plan of action for preventing flood disaster in Nigeria.
The President’s directive was conveyed to the Minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement issued on Monday, said President Buhari directed the minister to presented the plan to him in 90 days.
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Shehu said the President, who regularly received updates on the flooding situation in the country, restated his commitment towards addressing the challenges caused by the disaster in the country.
Nigeria recently experienced one of its worst flooding in decades as at least 603 people lost their lives while 1.3 million persons got displaced from their communities.
Some of the states where deaths from floods have been reported include Kogi, Anambra, Kebbi, Delta, Bayelsa, and Jigawa, with about 31 states said to have experienced flooding in 2022.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, revealed that about 82,053 houses had been totally decimated, 2,504,095 million persons affected, while 332, 327 hectares of land were completely damaged.