THURSDAY April 17, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

Alarmed by the concerns raised by the experts over the imminent massive floods disaster in the country, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate release of N15 billion to stop the looming national disaster, TheGUARDIAN reports.

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking at a workshop on strengthening, coordinated risk, monitoring and coordination of flood held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser, NCTC-ONSA Auditorium, Abuja.

He said he has directed the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government concerned to put heads together to avert crisis.

He stated that Tinubu welcomed strong collaborations to stop the imminent floods through combining technical expertise, financial resources, and operational capacity from within government and with the nation’s development partners.

The Vice President pointed out that Nigeria was a lucky nation with Senator Tinubu as the President going by the kind of leadership roles he is providing for the country

“Last year alone, floods affected over five million people. They displaced 2.3 million Nigerians, destroyed more than 450,000 hectares of farmland, and forced 1.2 million children out of school,” he said.

“This is not some scenario for an academic exercise. This was our reality. The victims represent all of us, our futures, and a national economy under immense strain.

“For decades, our response to floods and other climate-induced disasters has been reactive. Our preparation is either inadequate or we are caught unaware. We wait for the waters to rise, for the homes to vanish, and then we scramble for relief.”

Speaking on the importance of the workshop, the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, said that a taskforce has been set up to stop the imminent flood.

According to him, “the Imperative of early warning systems and timely response in mitigating the impact of disasters on vulnerable populations, and the ground breaking role of the Anticipatory Action Taskforce in achieving this.”

The NSA appealed to all stakeholders concerned to work tirelessly together to achieve the aim of the workshop in national interest.