FG, states, LGs asked to allocate 1% of budget to tackle climate change

The Director General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof Sani Abubakar Mashi, has asked the federal, states and local governments to allocate one percent of their annual budgets to tackle climate change in the country.

He said extreme events are becoming more random and frequent with unprecedented severity, adding that climate change events know no borders as an event in one part of the globe can impact in other parts, sometimes with devastating consequences

Represented by a director in the agency, Engr Mailadi Yusuf Misau, the DG stated this during a workshop on flood prevention, mitigation and preparedness organised by the Ministry of Environment recently.

He prayed that policy makers will sit up to save the country from avoidable devastation, especially the issue of flooding that has become a national embarrassment.

The Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, in a keynote address said Nigeria’s interventions in flood control have been adhoc and haphazard coupled with inadequate funding.

She noted that inadequate education and mobilization also resulted in lack of stakeholders’ awareness of their responsibilities towards prevention and management of the hazards, saying, “thus very little attention has been given to preventive measures such as holistic approach to watershed management.”

She said: “Inappropriate institutional framework and the existence of numerous independent agencies led to uncoordinated, ineffective and duplication of efforts lacking holistic solutions.”

She explained that this led to the formulation of National Policy on Erosion and Flood Control with allied documents by the Federal Government in 2005, saying, the policy document is under review.

The Federal Government, she said recognized the need to urgently provide steps to address the negative impact of flood disasters and the attendance hardship on the citizens of this country.