The North East Stakeholders Forum for Sustainable Development (NESFSD) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving the release of N80 billion to relevant government agencies and state authorities for flood control and mitigation across Nigeria.
The forum described the intervention as timely, saying it would strengthen efforts to protect vulnerable communities from the devastating effects of flooding.
In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Alhaji Murtala Sule Jalingo, and Secretary-General, Comrade Danladi Bawa Gombe, and made available to journalists in Bauchi, the group urged that additional resources be provided to sustain flood prevention and emergency response efforts.
The forum also praised the Managing Director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, for complementing the Federal Government’s efforts through proactive flood preparedness programmes in member states.
According to the statement, HYPPADEC has intensified early sensitisation campaigns in flood-prone communities while implementing projects aimed at reducing the impact of flooding and improving the livelihoods of residents.
The group noted that Yelwa’s leadership has ensured regular monitoring of projects, improved service delivery and enhanced implementation of intervention programmes across HYPPADEC states.
It further highlighted the commission’s interventions in Gombe and Taraba states, including the distribution of life jackets, provision of rescue boats, drainage desilting, solar-powered boreholes, transformers, classrooms and payment of NECO examination fees for students in host communities.
The forum said the interventions align with HYPPADEC’s mandate of mitigating ecological challenges associated with hydroelectric power operations and promoting sustainable development.
It recalled recent warnings by authorities that continued heavy rainfall could expose millions of Nigerians in low-lying communities to severe flooding.