One of the forward looking decisions taken at the recent 145th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) was the order for the audit of all inland waterways.
At the meeting presided by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima the federal ministry of water resources and sanitation was instructed to carry out an in-depth assessment of Nigeria’s waterways and dams to manage the challenges posed by frequent floods.
This directive, following a NEC meeting led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, reflects the council’s concern over widespread flood damage.
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, shared details from the NEC meeting, where members reviewed recent updates from the water resources minister, Joseph Utsev, on ongoing federal interventions.
With many regions, especially in the South-East and South-South, heavily impacted by floods, NEC harped on the need to consider these areas in dam construction plans to help manage water flow and act as barriers on main highways near the River Niger.
The council also urged state governors who have yet to submit flood management reports to complete this process promptly.
A call was made for enhanced emergency response coordination between states and federal authorities, which includes a possible infrastructure resilience plan within the Green Climate Fund to boost national flood response efforts.
The devastation from recent floods has been extensive, affecting about 34 states, 217 local governments, and displacing over 740,000 residents.
READ ALSO: DEVELOPING INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION
