The House of Representatives has invited the director-general, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, over 2023 flood predictions.

This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila during the plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.

Presenting the motion, Mr Gbajabiamila said there was a need for NEMA to brief the house on measures to prevent flood disasters and manage its socioeconomic impact on the people in flood-prone areas.

The motion is titled; “Need to Commence Active Measures to Mitigate the Probable Devastation of a Severe Flood Season and Prepare Palliative Intervention to Prevent the Worst Socio-Economic Consequences for Nigerians in the Affected Areas.’’

He said a large portion of the country was prone to annual flooding, recurring in recent years.

The former speaker stressed that the extent of the devastation of lives and property has been huge

Mr Gbajabiamila said the Nigerian Meteorological Agency in January released the seasonal climate prediction, with a forecast of early onset of rain across the country and heavy rains throughout the season.

The lawmaker expressed concerns that the 2023 annual flood outlook prepared by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency showed that 178 local government areas in 32 states and the FCT fell within the highly probable flood risk areas.

He said Nigeria had yet to recover from the 2022 flood, which affected more than four million people, displaced over two million and caused the death of 665.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the flooding caused damage to about 355,986 houses and homesteads, as well as destroyed an estimated 944,989 hectares of farmland.

“With sufficient preparation and collaboration between the federal and state governments, Nigeria can mitigate the loss of lives and the socio-economic hardships caused by the recurring flooding,’’ he said.

The house urged the federal government to liaise with the relevant agencies to ensure the relocation of Nigerians from the flood-prone areas. 

The house also said the federal government should ensure a stockpile of sufficient temporary shelter materials, food and nutrition items and medicine to support people in flood-prone areas.

The house urged NEMA to encourage communication between the federal and the state governments to ensure effective collaboration to prevent flooding in the country. 

(NAN)