President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday
inaugurated the National Committee on Flood relief and Rehabilitation to
primarily raise funds to complement Federal Government efforts to cushion the
immediate effects of the natural disasters
The Committee has also been given the mandate to aid the resettlement and recovery of affected persons as well as to oversee judicious utilization of the funds raised within a one year period
But the President is not limiting the terms of reference of the committee to raising funds alone but has given the body a blank cheque to deliberate on any issue that may be relevant to tackling the flood menace
This year's floods are said to be 50percent more in intensity than last year's floods which were also severe in some parts of the country
The extent of devastation has necessitated President Jonathan raising this committee to complement Government's efforts in ameliorating the suffering of those affected by the floods
Pointing out that between 50 to 70 percent of land in some states including Bayelsa state were under water, the President noted that the magnitude of refugees in a country of 167 million was better imagined
And this is why he is giving the Committee the leverage to offer advise on critical things that government may not even be aware of but which may be useful in managing the impact of the devastating flood
But the main assignment according to President Jonathan is to raise funds so that by the time the flood recedes before the middle of November the people can be rehabilitated and resettled in their communities and wouldn't continue to live in camps
Co-Chairman of the Committee, business mogul, Aliko Dangote explained that there is no ceiling to what the committee is aiming to raise but says its minimum target is 100 billion Naira
What are the strategies in place to ensure the actual victims benefit from the efforts of relief, rehabilitation, resettlement?
Already the committee is taking its blanket cheque seriously as it is already talking of getting to the root cause of the floods, something Government has been strangely silent on
The Co-Chair of the National Committee on Flood relief and Rehabilitation has pointed out quite rightly that next year's floods may be worse than what is currently being expected which is why government must take seriously, recommendations emanating from the body if the country will not be once again taken by surprise
The Committee has also been given the mandate to aid the resettlement and recovery of affected persons as well as to oversee judicious utilization of the funds raised within a one year period
But the President is not limiting the terms of reference of the committee to raising funds alone but has given the body a blank cheque to deliberate on any issue that may be relevant to tackling the flood menace
This year's floods are said to be 50percent more in intensity than last year's floods which were also severe in some parts of the country
The extent of devastation has necessitated President Jonathan raising this committee to complement Government's efforts in ameliorating the suffering of those affected by the floods
Pointing out that between 50 to 70 percent of land in some states including Bayelsa state were under water, the President noted that the magnitude of refugees in a country of 167 million was better imagined
And this is why he is giving the Committee the leverage to offer advise on critical things that government may not even be aware of but which may be useful in managing the impact of the devastating flood
But the main assignment according to President Jonathan is to raise funds so that by the time the flood recedes before the middle of November the people can be rehabilitated and resettled in their communities and wouldn't continue to live in camps
Co-Chairman of the Committee, business mogul, Aliko Dangote explained that there is no ceiling to what the committee is aiming to raise but says its minimum target is 100 billion Naira
What are the strategies in place to ensure the actual victims benefit from the efforts of relief, rehabilitation, resettlement?
Already the committee is taking its blanket cheque seriously as it is already talking of getting to the root cause of the floods, something Government has been strangely silent on
The Co-Chair of the National Committee on Flood relief and Rehabilitation has pointed out quite rightly that next year's floods may be worse than what is currently being expected which is why government must take seriously, recommendations emanating from the body if the country will not be once again taken by surprise
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