PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has directed the minister of water resources to work with the ministries of environment and transportation as well as state governments to develop a comprehensive action plan for preventing flood disaster in Nigeria.
The directive is coming after over 603 Nigerians have been killed and about 1.3 million others displaced by floods across the country in 2022.
Buhari conveyed the directive to the minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, according to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
According to the letter, the President directed the minister to present the plan to him in 90 days.
Shehu said the President, who he said regularly receives updates on the flooding situation in the country, restated his commitment towards addressing the challenges caused by the disaster in the country.
Some of the states where deaths from floods have been reported include Kogi, Anambra, Kebbi, Delta, Bayelsa, and Jigawa.
About 31 states have experienced flooding in 2022.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, revealed that the floods have affected about 2,504,095 million persons across the country.
Also, about 82,053 houses have been destroyed while 332,327 hectares of land have been submerged.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.