The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has directed the Minister of Water Resources to lead and coordinate with the Ministries of Environment and Transportation as well as state governments to develop a comprehensive plan of action for preventing flood disasters in the country.
Buhari’s directive, which was conveyed to the Minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, said the plan should be presented to him within 90 days.
Daily Post reported that the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, on Monday, broke the information to reporters in Abuja.
The statement reads in part, “President Buhari is regularly receiving updates on the flooding situation in the country and restates his commitment towards addressing the challenges caused by the disaster in the country.”
In a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund over the weekend, over 1.5 million children are at risk of dropping out of schools and facing imminent health challenges owing to the flood situation which has reportedly affected 34 states out of 36 in Nigeria.