The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria has greenlit the establishment of a Disaster Relief Fund, designed to mobilize financial support from all levels of government and private sector stakeholders to provide swift assistance to victims of disasters, particularly floods.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, announced this decision following a meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, September 23, 2024. Edun emphasized the Fund’s primary goal: providing rapid financial resources to assist flood victims across the nation.
In addition to the Fund, the FEC formed a Technical Committee tasked with reassessing dams nationwide, with a special focus on the Alau Dam in Borno State, where recent flooding resulted in the loss of many lives in Maiduguri. The committee will be led by the Minister of Water Resources.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has proposed constructing five buffer dams to manage the annual flooding triggered by water releases from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. NIHSA also advised residents in flood-prone states, including Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, and others, to relocate to safer areas to avoid the impact of upcoming floods.
This move follows recent floods in Maiduguri, which claimed over 30 lives and left thousands homeless.
