The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq has urged stakeholders of the Draft National Multi-sectorial Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan to make inputs that will serve as a guideline for flooding in Nigeria.
She disclosed this at the technical stakeholders meeting for the review of Draft National Multi-Sectoral flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan in Abuja.
According to the Minister, “President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Ministry to work with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, other relevant MDAs and stakeholders to develop a National Plan that will coordinate various flood management responses and interventions across the country, to reduce the impact of floods.
“In carrying out the presidential directive, the Ministry hosted an Inter-Ministerial Committee meeting with the Ministers and Heads of Agencies of over 17 ministries, departments, and agencies in September 2020. The major outcome of that meeting was the inauguration of an Inter-Ministerial Technical Working Group that was tasked with the responsibility of drafting a National Multi-Sectoral Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, that is being presented today.
“The Technical Group that drafted this plan included Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Therefore, we are advocating for an Integrated Flood Management approach where flooding is effectively managed using multi-sectoral expertise, and flood waters are harnessed for beneficial purposes such as agriculture, electricity etc”.
She further stated that the Plan identifies that flooding risks are cross-cutting and multi-sectorial and was, therefore, developed as an inter-ministerial, inter-agency, inter-governmental and multi-sectorial collaboration, and coordination framework necessary for the successful implementation and execution of the Plan.
Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, Deputy Director, Humanitarian Affairs, in his presentation said that “the need for an integrated flood Risk Management System that would leverage on technology and new innovation such as flood mapping, flood early warning systems etc,can never be overemphasised.
“Hence the purpose of this National Flooding Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (NFEPRP) for Nigeria is to provide strategic guidance in a systematic and sequential manner for managing floods anywhere in Nigeria in a coordinated manner”.
He said the objective of this plan is to increase political and stakeholders commitment and participation in the governance of flood risk reduction at all levels else.
“This will therefore improve local capacities for the identification, mitigation, prevention, response assessment and monitoring of flood risks”.
The Draft National Multi-Sectoral Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan is an 8 Chapter document with 75 pages.
Grace Osuji
For: DD (Information)
31th May, 2021
