Reps urge NEMA to aid flood victims in Makoko, Otumara

The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to provide relief materials and first aid care to the victims of flooding in Makoko and Otumara Communities in Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency of Lagos State.

The House also urged the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to immediately commence rehabilitation of the damaged roads in both Makoko and Otumara Communities respectively

In addition, it further urged the Ecological Project Office to provide funds for the provision of sustainable flood management systems to mitigate incessant flooding in Lagos Mainland;

The resolutions were adopted following the motion sponsored at the plenary titled “Devastating Flood and Erosion in Makoko and Otumara Communities in Lagos Mainland” by Moshood Olarewaju Oshun ( APC-LAGOS)

While moving the motion, the Lawmaker “Notes that the impacts of flooding on socioeconomic outcomes and community development have become perturbing, especially as low-income areas and overcrowded communities are more vulnerable to the rapidly escalating phenomenon

According to him “also notes that Otumara Ilaje and Makoko are riverine communities in Lagos Mainland with an estimated population of one million, two hundred and fifty thousand people, respectively, which have immense tourist potentials that can be harnessed through thoughtful and participatory planning;

“Concerned that the two communities have, for many years, been bedevilled by ravaging floods and the attendant coastal erosions, for each time there is heavy rainfall, the communities are flooded for days, submerging houses, destroying businesses, drowning helpless residents and displacing families;

“Also concerned that the 2024 rainy season is fast approaching and if the flooding in the communities is not urgently mitigated, it will result in devastating consequences when the rains start;

“Worried that the incessant flooding in the communities has exacerbated their susceptibility to waterborne diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, diarrhoea, leptospirosis and hepatitis A, among others.

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“Also worried that the gully erosions caused by the floods have rendered access roads in the communities impassable, causing untold hardship for the residents as they must travel long distances to access medical care and many other essential services;

“Resolves to: ‘urge the National Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials and first aid care to the victims of flooding in Makoko and Otumara Communities in Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency of Lagos State;

“Also urge the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to immediately commence rehabilitation of the damaged roads in Makoko and Otumara;

“Further urge the Ecological Project Office to provide funds for the provision of sustainable flood management systems to mitigate incessant flooding in Lagos Mainland; Mandate the Committees on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Ecological Fund to ensure implementation.”

When the motion was put into voice vote by the Speaker Hon Tajudeen Abbas who presided over the Plenary session it was unanimously supported by members and was referred to Committee on FERMA and Ecological fund for further legislative action.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE