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Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun
The National Economic Council, Nigeria’s highest economic advisory body, on Thursday recommended the inclusion of the South East and South-South in the construction of dams.
The council also backed an earlier Federal Government directive mandating the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to commence a comprehensive integrity test of Nigeria’s waterways and dams to mitigate flooding.
The Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, revealed this after the 144th meeting of the council chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the State House, Abuja.
Soludo said that the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, had briefed members of the council on the FG’s interventions after the disastrous impact of this year’s floods.
Utsev had earlier identified 148 local government areas in the country spanning 31 States as high-flood-risk areas from April to November 2024.
According to Soludo, after receiving the presentation from the Minister, NEC resolved that “the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation should conduct an integrity review of all the waterways and dams across the country.
“There was a serious emphasis on the need for a massive programme of dredging of the waterways. The council also urged governors who have not submitted their reports on the situation of flooding and management in their states to do so immediately.
“Council also noted that the Green Climate Fund should have an infrastructure resilient fund component and it was also noted that there some critical parts of the country that are very massively ravaged by this flooding, particularly the South East/South South that are completely omitted in the ongoing programs of the construction of dams at least to act as speed bumps along the highways particularly in the River Niger,” he said.
The former Central Bank Governor said the Council considered the national emergency and the responses on the damages and the coordination taking place between the States and the Federal Government and outlined further steps that should be taken.
“To date, about 34 States have been affected, 217 local Governments and 1,374,557 persons already affected and 740,743 persons were displaced nationwide and 321 persons dead, 20, 845 injured with 250,800 hectares cultivated farmlands also destroyed or affected by the rapid floods,” the Governor added.
During his presentation, Utsev informed the council that a technical sub-committee appointed by President Tinubu on October 8, 2024, is undertaking its assignment and will compile an interim report to be presented to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for onward transmission to the President.
Soludo said the council emphasised the need for an annual desilting programme for waterways to reduce future flood risks.
The council also urged states that have yet to submit their flood impact reports to do so promptly, as the reports are essential for developing targeted relief programmes.
The NEC recommended that the Green Climate Fund include a Resilience Infrastructure Fund component to support affected communities in flood-prone regions.
It also called for expanded construction of dams and flood control systems, particularly along the Niger River and in heavily-affected regions such as the South-East and South-South.
