President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated a presidential committee for the development of a comprehensive plan of action for the prevention of the recurrence of flood disasters in Nigeria.

The Minister of Water Resources, Engr Suleiman Adamu, who inaugurated the committee on behalf of the President charged the committee to carry out the task with utmost responsibility.

He said, “I wish to charge us all to carry out this task with the utmost sense of responsibility, bearing in mind that we cannot afford to fail in this national assignment.”

Adamu also urged all stakeholders to come together to accord the committee all the assistance and cooperation it needs to achieve the desired success.

While calling on the members of the committee to be thoroughly guided by the Terms of Reference (ToR) to achieve a holistic solution to the challenges of flood in the country as directed by Mr President.

The term of reference of a three-month term includes: Assessing and reviewing existing plans and policies on the management of flood disasters in Nigeria; Identifying and working with critical Stakeholders in flood disaster management; Identifying and visiting selected strategic flood-affected and prone areas; Carry out technical evaluation of information obtained from the assessment; Liaise and work with international organizations with expertise in flood management, where necessary; and

Develop a comprehensive action plan for preventing Flood Disasters in Nigeria.

He further added that the presidential directive will be carried out under a two-tier institutional arrangement: Steering Committee and a Technical Working Group.

The steering committeee is being coordinated by the Minister of Water Resources, while the Technical Working Group is headed by the Director General of the National Water Resource Institute, Prof. Emmanuel Adanu. (Daily Sun)