House Urges Key Agencies, Ministries, Others to Re-examine Disaster Framework

Juliet Akoje in Abuja.

The House of Representatives has urged key agencies and ministries to re-examine the current disaster policy framework for national development and consider implementing a new national disaster insurance scheme to ensure public confidence.
The affected ministries and agencies were, the National Emergency Management Agency, Ministry of Environment, Office of the National security Adviser and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Others were the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Fire Services Department, National Human Rights Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Insurance Corporation and the Representatives of Insurance firms

The house also urged the National Orientation Agency, the Ministry of Information and national Orientation, and the public enlightenment unit of the National Emergency Management Agency to embark on public enlightenment and sensitisation programmes nationwide in all Nigerian languages to educate the people on early warning signals, especially on fire during the coming harmattan season.

These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion calling for National Disaster Insurance Scheme moved by Hon. Biodun Omoleye Francis at plenary.
Omoleye, while presenting the motion, noted that billions of Nigerian taxpayers’ funds were allocated to addressing natural and artificial disasters, yet no significant relief has been provided to affected victums.

According to him, billions of private and public infrastructure was destroyed annually by the combined effects of floods, fire, and storms of unimaginable proportions, hence the need to address the noticeable gaps in disaster mitigation management in Nigeria.

He recalled that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), saddled with the management of disasters in Nigeria, has used insufficient resources to manage disasters, often resulting in insignificant budgets and unable to mitigate the actual effects.

Informing the House, he stated that the affected victims were worse off after each disaster mitigation exercise as hopes and expectations were dashed, leading to huge frustration and suicide contemplations by many, who were often occupationally and habitually displaced.

The lawmaker further raised concern that the rise in unwholesome practices by hoodlums and bandits might be linked to the frustrations of victims whose livelihoods, such as farming and animal husbandry, had been lost without future assistance.

Following this,  the House mandated its Committees on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Appropriations, Environment, National Security and Intelligence, Finance, Water Resources, Human Rights, and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance and report back within four (4) weeks for further legislative action.