The Federal Government on Monday unfolded a national strategic plan of action for flood prevention and management in, with a recommendation to establish a flood management commission in the country .
This followed a comprehensive report, which was produced by the presidential committee on flood that was inaugurated in November 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2022 flood in Nigeria that threw several communities into hardship and submerged homes, destroying properties worth billions of naira.
The minister of water resources, Suleiman Adamu, while briefing journalists in Abuja about the report handed over to him by the presidential committee, stated that President Buhari mandated the committee to fashion out ways of preventing flood disasters in Nigeria within 90 days.
He also noted that, in line with the president’s directives, the committee came up with recommendations with adequate potentials to mitigate the impact of flood disasters in Nigeria, if approved by the President.
According to him, the committee, in their recommendations, incorporated the federal executive council’s 2022 approved “National Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan,” which was prepared by the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development for Nigeria because of the need for articulated coordination among various stakeholders to achieve effective flood management and implementation of the plan.
Adamu further noted that the report consists of two volumes, the administrative volume and the action plan, which contains all the recommendations on flood disaster. The minister added that the mitigation and adaptation strategy of the national strategic plan for flood management differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for minimizing flood risks.
The report includes the strategic plan for flood mitigation, financing mechanism, costing of the flood strategic plan lan and other key recommendations.
The committee recommended three major strategic intervention areas, namely the establishment of National Flood Management Council (NFMC), State of Emergency Declaration, as well as Mitigation and Adaptation Plan.
Giving the breakdown, the minister said the composition of the National Flood Management Council will consist of the vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the ministers of water resources, environment, humanitarian affairs, agriculture & rural development, transportation, works and housing, power, health, aviation, defence, as well y science, technology & innovation.
Others ministries are information and culture, interior, finance, budget and national planning, and communication and digital economy.
Also included in the composition are representatives of state governments, which is one person per geopolitical zone, while council secretariat will make the reminder of the number.
The council is to advise the president of Nigeria on all issues pertaining to flood management, including declaration of state of emergency, coordination of flood management activities in the country, dealing with any other matters relating to flood management as may be directed by the President, as well as sourcing and providing funding for all flood related matters.
He stressed that under the State of Emergency Declaration, Nigeria flood is categorized as follows: Imminent, Minor, Moderate, Major and Destructive Floods.
Adamu explained that the mitigation and adaptation plan is derived following series of situational studies, analysis, field evaluations and key stakeholder interactions, under which ten key strategies to effectively address the incessant flooding across the country were identified.
The key strategies include data acquisition for integrated flood management, coordinated multi-sectoral flood management, early warning system, development of capacity on flood management, development and management of flood plains, protection of the environment, protection of infrastructure, reservoir operation system for mitigation, collaboration among relevant stakeholders, enhancement of public awareness and community support, and optimizing the benefits of flood to the national economy.
