Flood: Lawmakers Urge Buhari to Request N100bn Supplementary Budget from N’Assembly 

• Seek N200bn in 2023 budget for mitigation

• Direct release of N5bn for 36 states, FCT

Udora Orizu in Abuja 

Following the devastating effects of flooding nationwide, the House of Representatives has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to make an urgent request for supplementary budget from the National Assembly in the sum of N1 billion or more, to the Ecological Project Office (EPO) as Intervention Fund for Mitigation, Recovery and Relieve Programmes across the nation.

The lawmakers also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to release immediately the sum of N5 billion into the already created Special Ecological Fund Account of each state of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to mitigate the effect of flooding.

The House mandated its Committee on Appropriation to make provision of N200 billion in the 2023 appropriation year for the Ecological Project Office in the Presidency for — flood preparedness, mitigation response and relief packages.

It also mandated its Committee on Legislative Agenda to coordinate a technical working group between the Executive and Legislature, as well as industrial experts and stakeholders to articulate an action plan to forestall a repeat of such flood and erosion  disaster in 2023 and beyond.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Hon. Henry Nwawuba and Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka at the resumption of plenary Monday.

Moving the motion, Nwawuba noted that Nigeria is passing through the devastating effects of flood, which are caused by a combination of factors such as heavy rains, which makes flood control and management a perennial challenge.

He also noted that with each passing year, the impacts of flooding keep getting worse, with damages to property, dangers to lives of humans and other species, traffic delay, interference with drainage and economic use of lands.

He said the House is aware that in 2022, 33 out of 36 states and the FCT are affected, over 600 people killed and over 1.4 million people displaced.

He said: “Conscious that food inflation, which typically falls during the harvest season, has defied the trend this year, due to the compound effect of flooding and structural bottle necks. Informed by the most recent announcement on Monday, 7th November, 2022 by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to the effect that the heavy downpour will re-occur next year 2023.”

Adopting the motion, the House mandated its committee on legislative compliance to ensure compliance and report back within one week.