Association calls for emergency assistance for victims of flood

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has urged the Federal, State and Local Governments to support businesses and citizens in easing the loss caused by the recent flooding in the country.

This is contained in a statement by Director-General of NECA, Mr Adewale Oyerinde, in a statement on Sunday.

Oyerinde said that the floods had further compounded the high cost of living, compelling many to migrate from their abode to other higher grounds with various social, economic and unemployment consequences.

”The destruction of personal and economic infrastructure has invariably created circumstantial economic refugees.

“The consequences of the floods on the already fragile economy and pauperised citizens can only be imagined.

‘’While the cause of the floods remain controversial, the reality of billions of naira lost and lives prematurely wiped away cannot be denied,” he said.

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He also called for the design of appropriate policies in addressing the climate change effects in order to meet the 2050 United Nations declaration on global warming.

‘’The recent flood that is ravaging many parts of the country calls for urgent attention and retrospect from all and sundry.

‘’Nigeria has been more focused on post-disaster flood response than control.

‘’Reducing and addressing exposure to flood risk should now be a national priority in the government’s disaster risk management agenda, ‘’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 500 persons died in the floods.

NEMA said 2,504, 095 persons were affected by the worst natural disaster that ravaged the country in several years in the 33 out of the 36 states.

The federal government had also revealed that 45,249 houses have been totally destroyed while 70,566 hectares of farmlands have been damaged.

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The latest data was contained in the updated 2022 Flood Data released by NEMA, which also stated that about 1, 302, 589 persons had been rendered homeless as a result of the humanitarian crisis.

NAN reports that the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development had already likened the flooding in Nigeria this year to the last major flooding in 2012, which killed 363 people and displaced 600,000.