As part of efforts to speed up response to natural disasters in the country, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the establishment of a National Disaster Relief Fund......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
The approval, announced on Monday, will enable swift response to floods and other disasters across the country.
The approval comes about a week after President Bola Tinubu visited flood victims in Maiduguri, Borno State, where he first announced plans to establish the fund.
The recent floods in Maiduguri submerged half the city and resulted in loss of life and property.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, confirmed approval of the relief fund to State House correspondents after the FEC meeting.
The minister said the Federal Government would mobilise funding from critical stakeholders for the fund.
THE WHISTLER reported that during his visit to Maiduguri last week, President Tinubu had proposed that the fund would be financed by allocating a small percentage from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The proposal received support from Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who pledged that the National Assembly would work with the executive to establish the Fund.
“There must be a disaster relief fund,” Tinubu had said.
“After my visit to the Shehu of Borno and the IDP camp, I have been reflecting on how to tackle this kind of disaster and the effects of climate change.
“I will invite the private sector to team up with us and help rebuild the affected areas.
“If we take a small percentage from FAAC and put it as disaster relief fund, which will include all of you, we will be activating and strengthening our sense of belonging,” he said.
Statistics from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said flood disasters have affected over one million people across 29 states in 2024, with at least 259 lives lost.