Jonathan Warns on Flooding
President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered heads of federal ministries, departments and agencies relevant to flood prevention and control to ensure every necessary action to prevent a recurrence of the floods which wreaked havoc in many parts of the country last year.
Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati says it was while addressing ministers and officials at a meeting which he called to review ongoing flood containment measures. President Jonathan warned that he will not tolerate any excuses for a repeat of the flooding disasters which displaced various communities across the country in 2012. The President said, he expected all relevant MDAs to be very proactive in speedily implementing required flood prevention and management measures.
President Jonathan also directed the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Flood Prevention and Control which includes the Ministers of Environment, National Planning, Water Resources, Finance, Health, Transport and Aviation to establish effective liaison with Governors of all flood-prone states and ensure proper coordination between Federal agencies and the States in implementing flood control measures. He also stressed the need for greater public enlightenment and advocacy to ensure compliance with measures that have been evolved to prevent a recurrence of devastating floods across the country.
A technical team established by the Inter-Ministerial Committee presented a National Climate and Flood Control Framework to the President which detailed short, medium and long term measures recommended to solve the problem of perennial flooding in parts of the country.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency also informed the President that it was constantly monitoring soil moisture saturation across the country since the onset of the raining season, saying that its real time monitoring of weather conditions will enable the agency to give early warning of floods.