By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to support over 500, 000 Nigerians that are victims of flood disasters.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Sgehu disclosed this via a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The statement said that President Buhari receivies regular updates on the flood situation in the country, which has affected over 500,000 Nigerians since January this year.

Extending heartfelt condolences to all the families affected by the recent flooding in different States across the country, the President ‘pledges that the Federal government will continue to provide the needed emergency assistance to individuals and communities impacted by the disaster.

“He also invites other public-spirited individuals and organisations to support hundreds of thousands of people in need of urgent help in the affected communities.”

The President reiterated that these tragic events have brought to fore the need for States and local governments to step up their level of preparedness in handling emergencies, which he said remained a shared responsibility with the Government at the Centre.

President Buhari affirmed that “the Federal Government will continue to monitor the situation very closely to work more with states and affected communities to reduce the impact of the disaster, provide resources and improve response and recovery efforts.”

He urged inhabitants of flood-prone areas to always adhere to the early warning advisories as issued by the organisations saddled with climate monitoring and disaster management.

According to the statement, “Since January this year flooding has been reported in Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States and the Federal Capital Territory, affecting 508,721 people.

“The destructive floods have displaced 73,379 people, 115 casualties, and injured 277 people.

“The floods and heavy rain have left around 37, 633 houses destroyed or severely damaged, according to latest data made available to the Presidency from the relevant Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA).”