The Federal Government (FG) on Tuesday warned states not to repeat what happened in 2022 where huge floods killed more than 600 people and destroyed property worth billions of Naira in various states. FG gave the warning at an event in Abuja where the Ekiti state government announced its own preparations for the impending severe flooding conditions previously predicted by the two Federal Meteorological and Climate Agencies.
The Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji announced this at the headquarters of the National Emergency Management Agency urging the federal government to support his state, saying the rainy season forecasted in the region will be heavy, which may cause huge damage to the state.
Federal agencies, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency had predicted severe flooding this year based on scientific knowledge.
“We have received the NiMet forecast for this year. We have noted that the rainy season this year will be longer and that states have to be proactive to mitigate the effects of flooding and other natural disasters.
“As a state, we commenced early preparations towards that. In areas that are prone to flooding, we’ve commenced dredging on our own, and we’ve started to alert the people to be prepared.
“We are also partnering with the Local Governments to ensure that we reduce the effect of floods. But you can do more if you have the support of an agency like NEMA. That is why I’ve come here, for we need NEMA to focus more on Ekiti, with respect to its intervention for our people,” Oyebanji stated.
Responding to the request of the governor, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, said Ekiti State should establish a Local Emergency Management Committee, and warned state governments to prevent a repeat of the havoc caused by floods in 2022.
“I’ll advise that you set up a Local Emergency Management Committee immediately. Let us come there when you are going to inaugurate them. Every disaster is local. It starts from a community, which is within a Local Government and state”, he said.
cc: Punch Ng
