Economic loss from 2022 floods amounts to $7bn – Vice President, Kashim Shettima

At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Abuja, it was revealed by Vice President Kashim Shettima that the flood experienced in 2022 caused approximately $7 billion in infrastructural damages in the country.

Represented by Deputy Chief of Staff Ibrahim Hassan, Shettima also highlighted the tragic loss of 600 lives due to the same flood.

This incident underscores Nigeria’s susceptibility to the adverse effects of climate change, which is recognized as one of the most significant global challenges.

Mr Hassan said: “We are all living witnesses to the ravaging floods of last year (2022), which held the country to a standstill for days. The World Bank’s Global Rapid post-disaster damage estimation assessment put the total direct economic damage to infrastructure at about $7bn,”

Nigeria’s climate change actions

The Vice President also highlighted Nigeria’s significant leadership within Africa, underscoring its crucial contributions to the climate policy negotiation process of the UNFCCC.

Since becoming a Party to the UNFCCC in 1994, Nigeria has consistently championed a just and equitable approach to tackling climate change.

He noted that in 2015, Nigeria joined other nations of the world in signing the Paris Climate Accord but bemoaned the lack of progress in mobilizing the $100 billion investment from rich countries that contribute more to the negative impact of climate change.

About the 2022 floods in Nigeria

The flooding of 2022 affected 34 out of Nigeria’s 36 states and led to the loss of lives, property, and farmlands.

Some flood-affected states include Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Lagos, Kano, Adamawa, Jigawa, Benue, and Borno.

The floods ravaged more than 569,000 hectares of farmland in advance of the October harvest, potentially worsening the existing critical food insecurity situation.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that the 2022 flood catastrophe in the nation resulted in 662 fatalities, 3,174 injuries, and the displacement of 2,430,445 people.

The 2022 floods were said to be the worst in Nigeria’s history as they created humanitarian crises and compounded economic challenges in the affected areas.

Some communities are inaccessible and cut off from goods and services which affected communities are still grappling with.