Bill to repeal NEMA Act passes second reading
Northern leaders, under the ambit of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), have urged the Federal Government to adequately prepare against the incident of flood disaster in many parts of the country.
Meanwhile, a bill that seeks to address critical issues such as climate change adaptation, drought, desertification, flooding, coastal erosion, dam failure, building collapse, and oil spills, among others has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
ACF said its attention had been drawn to official predictions of impending floods in riverine and other flood-prone areas of the country during the 2025 rainy season.
The Northern socio-cultural group statement, yesterday, quoted the Nigerian Hydrological Services, which said the floods were expected to affect 1,249 communities across 176 local councils in 30 states, 16 of which are in the North, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The statement signed by ACF National Publicity, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, explained: “Communities without adequate preparations typically experience deaths, destruction of farmlands, public and private property damage, disruptions to means of livelihood, food shortages, etc. For 2025, the floods could not come at a worst of times, given the dire economic and other existential constraints that citizens have been living with.
“The Federal Government has launched sensitisation campaigns to alert on the impending phenomenon and the need for proactive measures to avert or minimise losses from the impending floods. Commendable as the measure is, the campaign has yet to be visible, even as the rainy season has begun in earnest in most parts of the country.”
The group called on relevant federal, state and local council ministries and agencies to key in on the campaign. It also called on “public agencies to ensure the completion of repairs to damaged infrastructure, roads, bridges and public buildings, including schools, medical facilities and markets.”
THE NEMA bill presents a practical step towards transforming the nation’s emergency and disaster management response framework. Also, the emergency and disaster response mechanism contemplated by the bill is an important legislative response which meets the demands of Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
The proposed legislation entitled, ‘Bill for an Act to Repeal the National Emergency Management Agency Act, Cap. N34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Enact the National Emergency Management Agency Bill and for Related Matters’, was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, Babajimi Benson and five others.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, one of the co-sponsors, Amobi Ogah, said: “While the Act provides a solid foundation for disaster management, it lacks provisions for addressing critical issues such as climate change adaptation and resilience, digital transformation initiatives, drought, desertification, flooding, coastal erosion, dam failure, building collapse, oil spills, road accidents and bomb explosions.”
