The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) flagged off the distribution of special national economic livelihood emergency interventions to 660,884 vulnerable persons affected by the 2022 flood in the country.
Speaking while flagging off the exercise, the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said “the Federal Government approved this special intervention to assist vulnerable persons across the country and those affected by the flood to support their quick return to normalcy.”
The director general explained that the beneficiaries was verified by NEMA, SEMAs, ministry of of Agriculture and other relevant stakeholders in 36 states and FCT.
According to him “The intervention is also expected to drive the sustainable socio-economic resilience of the targeted most vulnerable individuals. A total of 660,884 households were verified and targeted to benefit from this special intervention across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
The director general noted the sad incident of the 2022 flood disaster which devastated many communities across the country including here in Jigawa State.
He added that Immediately after the flood incident, damage and loss assessments were conducted and relief items approved by the federal government were delivered across the states to complement initial intervention by the state governments.
“I had the cause to personally visit some of these communities in Jigawa State during the peak of the flood disaster, where a number of people were displaced and their farmlands and crops were completely inundated”.
Ahmed disclosed that foodstuffs and agricultural inputs such as crop seedlings and equipment are given to take farmers back to the land, stimulate crop production and safeguard national food security in the middle economic downturn
The DG advised the beneficiaries to make proper use of the items to improve their socio-economic conditions. Beneficiaries are also enjoined to be orderly during the distribution exercise as all those verified will receive their items.
“The intervention is expected to stimulate value chain activities at the grassroots. At the same time, the livelihood support items are meant to help artisans to improve their business and grow the economy”, Ahmed emphasised.
He, therefore, warned the beneficiaries to avoid selling the items and destroy the good intentions of the Federal Government.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNEÂ