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ActionAid seeks activation of contingency plans to mitigate flooding in states

By Joke Falaju, Abuja
02 April 2023   |   3:30 am
Citing the devastating effect of the 2022 floods and warnings by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) of a repeat this year, the ActionAid has urged states to develop and activate contingency plan of action to mitigate the looming disaster.

Citing the devastating effect of the 2022 floods and warnings by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) of a repeat this year, the ActionAid has urged states to develop and activate contingency plan of action to mitigate the looming disaster.

They specifically told states in the coastal areas like Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Delta, Kogi, Edo, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Rivers where people live on water and non-coastal states that are susceptible to floods like Jigawa, Adamawa, Kano, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Yobe to activate their flood preparedness plan and communicate same to likely communities to be affected to minimise possible losses.

The Country Director, ActionAid, Ene Obi, who said this during a press conference yesterday, in Abuja appealed to the Federal and state governments, emergency management agencies and all concerned stakeholders to ensure that their contingency plans and interventions on flood this year is commensurate with the level of impact.

She said: “Now is time for Nigeria, particularly states that were heavily hit last year, particularly Bayelsa, Jigawa, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Abia, Edo, amongst others to activate their flood preparedness plan and communicate same to likely communities to be affected to minimise possible losses.”

Obi recalled that in 2022, Nigeria experienced the worst flood in a decade with about 1.4 million people across 31 states affected, over 700,000 people displaced and an estimated 500 deaths recorded.

She pointed out that the yearly displacement of people from the communities and severe losses across is deepening poverty levels of states and of Nigerians and also undermining efforts of all stakeholders in ensuring rights to schools and quality health care because schools and health centres serve as IDP camps during the difficult.

Represented by the Director, Programmes, Suweba Dakwanbo, Obi urged all tiers of government and other actors to strengthen rapid response mechanisms
including effective coordination of response, saying it is very important as the impact of floods or severe dry spells is diverse requiring the action of various actors.

While noting that preventing the flood disaster and its implications on lives and livelihoods is a collective responsibility of all, with the Nigerian government in the leading space, the body called on government at all levels to play the leading role in mitigating effects of this disaster on citizens.

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