News
About 34,000 Already Affected by Flooding in 2023- NEMA
About 34,000 Already Affected by Flooding in 2023- NEMA
By: Michael Mike
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has lamented that no fewer than 33,983 persons have already been affected by the flooding during the ongoing raining season in parts of the country.
The Director, Planning, Research and Forecasting, Hajiya Fatima Kasim gave the figure on Thursday at the Emergency Coordination Forum Meeting in Abuja.
She said that flooding which had become a yearly occurrence in the country, is usually caused by various factors which include improper building including bad infrastructure design and construction.
Kasim listed other factors to include; poor drainage system, poor solid waste management, harmful land-use practices such as deforestation and climate change, among others.
She said that the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction released by NiMet earlier in the year predicted a normal to above-normal rainfall patterns for the country, adding that the Annual Flood Outlook forecasted by NIHSA also predicted that 178 local government areas in 32 states and FCT are within the high flood risk areas.
She however noted that in the last seven months, some data had been collated by the agency on the figure of people affected so far by flood disasters in the country.
She said: “As at Aug. 9, the following data has been collated in respect of 2023 flooding.
“Number of states affected – 10 states; Number of persons affected – 33,983; Number of persons displaced – 7,353; Number of persons injured – 75; Number of deaths – 5; Number of houses totally damaged – 1,679 and Farmlands totally damaged – 866 hectares,” she said.
Earlier in his remarks, Director-General, NEMA, Mr Mustapha Ahmed, said the agency deemed it fit to resuscitate the Emergency Coordination Forum meeting to give adequate attention to disaster management.
He said: “The emergency coordination forum is an avenue for stakeholders to come together to discuss humanitarian challenges being faced by the citizens as a result of disasters and emergencies.
“This is to foster partnership, collaboration and cooperation among relevant stakeholders in emergency management in the country.”
Also speaking at the event, Director-General, NIHSA, Mr Clement Nze,, said that so far not less than 20 states and the FCT had experienced one degree of flooding or the other, adding that over 46 LGAs had also been affected and several casualties recorded and houses submerged.
He said that most of the flood incidents recorded so far were as a result of overflow of silted rivers, channels and poor or blocked drainage systems.
He added that these resulted from localised rainfall that generated from flash and urban flooding in the urban areas and their metropolis.
On his part, Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, said that the NBS 2022 flood assessment exercise recorded a high impact of flooding on agriculture and properties.
He said: “The NBS Flood Assessment exercise in collaboration with NEMA and UNDP, gathered information on flood-affected areas and the socio-economic consequences.
“Six states were assessed: Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Jigawa, Kogi, and Nasarawa, with Jigawa having the highest percentage of affected households, which is 90.7 per cent.
“The assessment focused on four key indicators: impact on businesses, food availability, health effects, and access to basic services.
“The report showed that the consequences of the flooding on agriculture and properties was very significant.”
About 34,000 Already Affected by Flooding in 2023- NEMA
News
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
By: Michael Mike
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Yemisi Asagbra debunked some allegations level against the agency by some non governmental organisations (NGOs) concerning negligence and compromise.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Asagbra said: “The negative statements circulating are misleading and lack credible scientific backing. The agency asks these organisations to present verifiable scientific evidence for their claims and we relies on sound scientific research and internationally recognized protocols to make informed decisions. It is part of the Cartagena Protocol with over 180 parties, our mandate is to protect the health of Nigerians and the environment. It will not compromise on this as it is an agency of integrity.
She added that: “The agency is transparent and accountable in its operations. It invites review of its processes and rigorous evaluations of GMO products. We are confident in our procedures that it’s meet global standards and it is a leader in effective regulation in Africa”.
On the source of the allegations, she said “over the years they have been advocating to have their presence in the board where all these products coming will be thoroughly Investigated, but it hasn’t been given. Most times we rely on the information given by Nigeria Custom Service to furnish them with needed information, which most time is not always easy if they have other things doing.
The Head planning, research and statistics National Biosafety Management Agency Mrs. Bello Scholastica said the agency is concerned with safety to our health and safety to our environment.
She further reiterated that what NBMA stands for is to establish first regulation from identification of the gene of interest, “of what you are interested in, from then till commercialization, and even after commercialization, they still follow suit to make sure that the approvals they gave hasn’t caused any harm, or those that were given approval to that they stay put to what they were asked to do”.
She further explained that the agency has put in effort to promote environmental conservation and biosafety in Nigeria.
NBMA Debunks Allegations of Negligence, Compromise Against It
News
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
By: Michael Mike
The House of Representatives has revealed that it is interested in the passage of the Human Rights Defenders Bill into law, saying that the bill has already passed the first reading and will soon be subjected to second reading.
The House also promised to take the necessary steps to ensure an improvement in the 2025 budget of the NHRC, pointing out that the N5 billion approved for it in the 2024 budget is inadequate considering the myriad of human rights violations in the country.
The Chairman House Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Abiola Makinde made this disclosure during the oversight visit of Committee to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The Chairman, who was represented at the occasion by his Deputy, Hon. Mudashiru Lukeman assured the NHRC that the Committee would continue to advance the course of human rights in Nigeria by ensuring that the House of Representatives passes critical bills on human rights issues as well as makes adequate budgetary provisions to ease the work of the Commission.
Makinde also stated that in a bid to improve some aspects of Civil and Political Rights, the House of Representatives had ensured the establishment of human rights desks in all police formations and Headquarters across the 36 States of the Federation.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu who received the lawmakers with his management staff told the Human Rights Committee that the Commission relies heavily on them for the enactment of human rights friendly laws and enhanced budgetary provisions to discharge it broad mandate of promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights in the country.
He used the opportunity to commend the legislators for their role in the amendment of the NHRC Act 2010 as well as the support of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in the payment of compensation to victims of human rights violations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force.
He equally informed the legislators who were on oversight visit about the recent report released by the Commission following the findings of the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in the North East Nigeria , which he noted has saved the country from possible invitation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He noted that the aforementioned wide spread allegations of human rights infractions against some government institutions could result in the ICC extending invitations to some of the leaders to respond to the allegations, but the Commission has done the needful in compliance with the international principles of omplementarity.
He thanked the Committee for promising to improve the budgetary allocation of the Commission in the 2025 fiscal year.
House of Reps Assures on Passage of Human Rights Defenders Bill
News
FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa
FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa
By: Michael Mike
The arrest of Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa in Finland has been confirmed by the federal government.
A statement on Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of the proscribed Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by Finnish authorities on Thursday.
According to the statement, Ekpa was
charged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence.
The Finnish District Court of
Päijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent.
The Finnish authorities alleged that Mr. Ekpa used social media platforms to spread
separatist propaganda, incite violence and encourage illegal actions, which had caused
significant disruptions in the South-East of Nigeria. Finnish investigators had also linked
him to incidents of violence in Nigeria, which were believed to had been fueled by his
online activities.
The statement said “the arrest of Mr. Simon Njoku Ekpa follows sustained diplomatic
pressure by the Nigerian government on Finland, to take action against his activities,
which were linked to violence and instability in the South-East of Nigeria. The request
for action featured during high level engagements between countries.”
The Ministry stated that the arrest of Ekpa, is a significant development in addressing the activities of IPOB, and also neutralizing the influence of transnational actors and “their impact on our national security.”
The Ministry promised to continue to monitor the legal proceedings and provide further updates as the case progresses.
FG Confirms Arrest of Simon Ekpa
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