Flood: Council on Environment resolves to take life-saving measures

In the light of the floods that inundated several communities across Nigeria, members of the 12th National Council on Environment have agreed on measures that authorities must take to safeguard lives and property and in the future.

Last week, in the Ondo State capital of Akure, the council, chaired by Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, recognised the need to save lives and property due to the menace of seasonal flooding experienced by citizens, and therefore, encouraged state and local governments to promote good land use practice that discourage settlement in flood plains in Nigeria.

The council also identified the need for early prediction, detection and redress.

The Federal Government was urged to extend the installation of Flood Early Warning Systems to other areas for real time prediction of flood events where there is none.

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According to the communique, the Federal and state ministries of Environment should be empowered and funded to adequately checkmate this almost – annual occurrence of flood across the country.

The council also “reiterated the need to holistically address the challenges of coastal erosion, marine litters and ecosystem devastation” along Nigeria’s 853km coastline and called on the country’s coastal states to “key into the World Bank-assisted West African Coastal Area Management programme.”

The theme of the NCE was “Environment and Security in Nigeria: Consolidating Nigeria’s Environment Sector Reforms towards Sustainable Development.”

Council meeting was declared open by the Executive Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. Goodwill messages were received from the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Senator Remi Tinubu, represented by Senator Foster Ogola; the chairman, House Committee on Environment, Honourable Obinna Chidoka, as well as from other stakeholders.

The National Council on Environment is Nigeria’s highest policy-making body on the environment sector which facilitates intergovernmental deliberations and guides consultation on environment issues at all levels of government.