The Federal Government on Tuesday donated multi-million naira worth of relief materials to flood victims in some communities in Enugu State.
The food and non-food items included 1,000 bags of 10kg rice, 1,000 bags of 10kg beans, 1,000 bags of 10kg maize, and 75 bags of 20kg salt.
Others were 75 kegs of 20-liter vegetable oil, 150 cartons of seasoning cubes, 75 cartons of tomato paste, 7,350 nylon mats, and 1,000 treated mosquito nets.
The rest were 600 toilet soaps, 2,500 pieces of five-yard Guinea brocade, 1,000 children’s wear, 1,000 women’s wear, and 1,000 men’s wear.
Presenting the items to Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu, the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, commiserated with the government and people of the state over the disaster.
Ahmed said that NEMA had been inundated with reports of floods in more than 450 Local Government Areas in the country and still counting.
He regretted that the unfortunate development had caused colossal damage to the country, including the loss of lives, livelihood, property, and infrastructure.
The NEMA boss called for “concrete and deliberate” action that would lead to a substantial reduction in flood disaster risks and losses in lives, livelihoods, and health, amongst other issues.
“To be able to achieve these we need to have a better understanding of flood disaster risks, by looking deeply into previous disasters.
“A deeper questioning of what happened and why could prevent a repetition,” Ahmed said.
He also called for the strengthening of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and the establishment of Local Government Emergency Management Committees to manage disaster risks.
“As a people, we must listen and take full advantage of early warning alerts from hydro-meteorological agencies and NEMA and ensure that new infrastructure does not introduce new risks.
“Locating infrastructure out of harm’s way is one way to achieve this,” he said.
Related Articles
Ahmed further said that the country must have the political will to invest in disaster risk reduction activities through adequate budget appropriations in line with the National Flood Response Plan that was recently approved by the Federal Government.
He commended Ugwuanyi, public-spirited individuals, and corporate bodies for providing the first line of support to the victims.
He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, for the timely intervention and commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of all Nigerians.
Receiving the items, the governor thanked the Federal Government and NEMA for their interventions with succor to the flood victims in the state.
The governor, represented by the Executive Secretary of Enugu SEMA, Mrs. Nkechi Eneh, said that the state took the necessary steps concerning the early warnings by NEMA.
He also said that the state government monitored the level of water in rivers within the state before the sudden release of water from the Lado Dam three weeks ago.
Ugwuanyi said that the state lost one person, while at least 30,000 persons were directly affected by the floods.
He said that the disaster affected most communities in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area and other boundary communities in the area.
He said: “The state government had relocated all persons in the affected communities to holding camps.
“It has also provided some relief items and daily food to the camps.”
The governor further said that the government planned to continue to care for the communities until the flood water had receded.
“We will find means of getting these relief materials from NEMA to them and ensure that they would definitely get to the affected persons within a very short time,” he said.
