President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered his cabinet to provide a flood prevention plan in 90 days and develop a comprehensive action plan to prevent future disasters in the country.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday evening by a media aide to the President, Garba Shehu.
Over 600 people have died and 2.5 million were affected by Nigeria’s flooding this year.
What he said:
Shehu stated that the President 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 disasters in Nigeria.
- “The President’s directive, which was conveyed to the Minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, said the Plan should be presented to him in 90 days.
- “President Buhari is regularly receiving updates on the flooding situation in the country and restates his commitment towards addressing the challenges caused by the disaster in the country.”
In case you missed it
- The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) said most state governments disregarded its forecasts on impending flooding in the country hence the havoc witnessed in the past few weeks.
- NiMET’s DG said: “We gave the warnings and weather for each state, but whether the states adhere to it or not, we are now seeing the result. Most of them did not adhere. But unfortunately, it was only when the flood came that many states were now running to Mr. President cap in hand to get money.
- “If they had listened to us, some of these things would have been avoided. We asked them to invite us and gather their stakeholders to allow us to train them on the use of the information and engage with them so that we can have a window through which we can interact with them; giving them updates, and reminding them about what the forecasts say.
