The
ECOWAS Commission has presented a cheque for US$382,000 to the Government
of Nigeria to help mitigate the effects of the recent flood disaster which
claimed several lives and caused substantial damage to property in parts of the
country.
“While I
know that there is no volume of assistance that can bring back lives, we wish
to express our solidarity and compassion,” President of the Commission His
Excellency Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said in Abuja on Monday 12th November,
while presenting the cheque to Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Ambassador Olugbenga
Ashiru, at a ceremony in the Ministry.
He said
that providing assistance to alleviate the sufferings of ECOWAS citizens
affected by humanitarian challenge “is a core mandate” of the Commission under
the regional Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,
Management, Peacekeeping and Security.
The
President further explained that the Commission has been developing appropriate
tools and instruments such as the ECOWAS Emergency Response Team (EERT),
National Humanitarian Platforms for disaster management for Member States that
lack the capacities. The organization has also developed the Disaster Reduction
(DRR) Policy which provides guidance on prevention, mitigation and management
of natural disasters in the region.
President
Ouedraogo paid tribute to President Goodluck Jonathan “for his continued role
in the overall peace development and integration” of the ECOWAS Region.
In his
response, Minister Ashiru thanked the Commission for the gesture, which he
described as “a true demonstration of the fact that, we are our brothers’
keepers, in the true spirit of our African tradition where the misfortune of
one becomes the shared misfortune of the community as a whole.”
He said
the donation will go a long way in bolstering the measures being taken by
Nigeria’s Federal and State governments to ameliorate the suffering of the
flood victims.
The
Director-General of the National Emergency Relief Agency, Alhaji Muhamed Sani
Sidi, said the flood disaster displaced more than two million people in 32 of
Nigeria’s 36 States, destroying infrastructure and washing away acres of
farmland.
He said
the ECOWAS gesture “shows that the international Community also has a role to
play in complementing the effort” of Nigerian governments and affected
communities in “lessening the impact of the flood disaster.”
Also at
the ceremony were the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Dr.
Adrienne Diop.
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