What is the nation doing to prevent the next flooding? Soludo warns of imminent humanitarian crisis

The Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has warned about an imminent humanitarian disaster due to the nonchalance of the Federal Government towards the plight of Nigerians who are being plagued by the recent floodings.

Soludo made this call on Tuesday, during an interview on Channels TV, Sunrise Daily.

Floods have hit parts of Nigeria in the last two months with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) saying that about 2.5 million persons were affected and over 603 persons killed by the flooding caused by torrential rainfall of late.

Houses and farmlands have been submerged in Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States, and the Federal Capital Territory.

READ ALSO:Floods: Reps urge Buhari to declare emergency in Bayelsa

Speaking on the issue, Soludo warned that the floodings would happen again and the FG must ensure proactive means towards avoiding any future disasters.

He said, “What is the nation doing to prevent the next flooding, because Cameroun will still release waters from the dam again?

“Whether we are going to build dams or embankments along the river dams and we need an emergency conversation as a nation.”

The former Central Bank Governor further detailed plans being embarked upon by his administration towards mitigating the effects of the floods amongst the local populace.

“For us in Anambra, the first thing is about survival for the thousands of affected people and the responsibility of the Govt is to ensure safety within the limited resources. Erosion and flooding are part of the threats plaguing the state and we made that a priority.

“However, the national conversation has to be had which will be raised on various fora; we cannot tag these floodings as emergency because another one will come. The country must begin to prepare for proactive responses and this conversation is important in the run-up to the 2023 elections.

“The National Assembly and the Presidency should ensure a robust response especially when the flooding recedes due to the attendant health and environmental hazards that will happen. And this is because in weeks to come, the people will be expected to return to their communities and a lot of roads are washed off — this requires massive capital investments and construction works,” Soludo said.

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