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General News of Saturday, 19 November 2022

Source: www.nairametrics.com

In a responsive move, FG outlines N2.5 billion new flood-related projects for 2023

Flooding Flooding

A review of the 2023 budget appropriation bill shows that the Federal Ministry of Environment has budgeted over N2.5 billion for new projects associated with flood prevention and management.

Nigeria experienced extreme flooding across 34 states earlier this year. The floods have destroyed businesses, farmlands and other properties.

In total, about 1.4 million people are estimated to have been affected by the flooding and over 600 people have lost their lives in floods across different states of the federation.

On November 16, World Weather Attribution found that flooding in Nigeria occurred as a consequence of above-average rainfall throughout the 2022 rainy season exacerbated by shorter spikes of very heavy rain leading to flash floods as well as riverine floods. The flooding was further driven by the release of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, which is part of a river management system that was designed to be accompanied by another dam in Nigeria that has not been completed.

WWA says the devastating impacts were further exacerbated by the proximity of human settlements, infrastructure (homes, buildings, bridges), and agricultural land to flood plains, underlying vulnerabilities driven by high poverty rates and socioeconomic factors (gender, age, income, and education), and ongoing political and economic instability.

In the revised bill seen by Nairametrics, there are 67 new projects identified by the ministry. It is instructive to note that the budget details also outline ongoing flood-related projects under the ministry of environment.

The new projects geared towards flooding for 2023 are spread across 21 states. The states include The Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Adamawa, Anambra, Osun, Kogi, Imo, Katsina, Oyo, Plateau, Nasarawa, Gombe, Ebonyi, Ondo, Borno, Abia, Edo, Kaduna, Ekiti, Ogun and Kogi.