THE Federal Government has approved an interest-free loan of N6.3 billion to support 21,000 Nigerians affected by flood disasters across the country.
The Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Yusuf Sanunu, disclosed this on Monday during a roundtable held in Abuja to commemorate the 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“As a ministry, under the Hope Agenda of Mr President, the Ministry has, through the National Social Investment Agency, done very well in improving the resilience of the local community. As of today, in terms of conditional cash transfer, over 8.1 million households in Nigeria have been reached with a total sum of over 300 and something billion naira. This has really improved their capacity, improved their health and education, and the process will continue,” Sanunu said.
The ICIR reported in January how flood and windstorm increasingly impact Plateau State, with many affected families displaced, but the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency (PLASEMA) and the Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) often fail to deliver timely relief and execute effective ecological projects.
Sanunu explained that the intervention aims to lessen the impact of flooding across the country and tackle its effects on food security, noting that the Federal Government has supported 8.1 million households with over N300 billion under the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme.
“We are also planning, together with both national and state levels, to improve on our flood mitigating effect by doling out, in the next few weeks to come, to 21,000 Nigerians, free interest, and also free collateral loan of over 300,000 Naira each. This is to address the issue of crisis in farming to mitigate the impact of flooding in Nigeria,” he said.
The Minister also highlighted plans to empower displaced persons through a scheme designed to create a ready market for their products.
“Already, we have planted a program in collaboration with Federal Minister of Agriculture in addressing the food security of internally displaced persons through the collaboration with internally displaced persons in their camp and host community, the formula of giving the internally displaced person 30% of the produce produced by the internally displaced persons, and the government will off-take 70% and the money will be given to the internally displaced persons that participated in the scheme as a cash component,” he said.
The event had in attendance Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, lawmakers and international partners, among others.
Speaking at the event, Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasised that it is wiser, more cost-effective, and more compassionate to prepare for disasters before they occur than to rebuild after their destruction.
“Every naira we spend today on preparedness saves many more tomorrow on response and recovery. Every investment in resilience is, in truth, an investment in the lives and futures of our people,” Shettima said.
The Vice President explained that in recent years, floods have washed away farmlands, erosion swallowed roads, and fires have razed markets that took years to build.
“These tragedies happen not in distant lands but in our own communities—to people we know, to families just like ours. Each of these disasters reminds us that if we fail to invest in resilience, we will continue to spend our scarce resources cleaning up after crises instead of building lasting prosperity,” he added.
While highlighting how President Bola Tinubu emphasises the need to treat resilience as a national policy, Shettima said that the government is integrating disaster risk reduction into every sector.
“From agriculture and infrastructure to education and health—while expanding early warning systems to ensure that communities receive timely alerts before floods, droughts, or disease outbreaks occur,” the Vice President said.
He noted that the government is enhancing the capacity of state and local emergency management agencies through training, technology, and improved coordination support.
He also urged academia and research institutions to provide data-driven research for informed decision-making, and civil society to raise awareness and hold institutions accountable.
Over the years, Nigeria has faced recurring incidents of flooding, erosion, drought, and other climate-related disasters that have ravaged farmlands, displaced thousands, and placed pressure on public resources.
The ICIR reported in August that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officially stated that at least 138 persons sustained various degrees of injuries, 43,936 were displaced, 8,594 houses were affected, and 8,278 farmlands were destroyed across 43 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 19 States due to flooding in 2025.
NEMA also noted that 8,594 houses and 8,278 farmlands have been damaged, with women and children being the most affected.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.