President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a high powered committee charged with the responsibility of raising funds to cushion the effects of flood disasters across the nation.
The Flood Relief and Rehabilitation Committee as it is known, has business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, chairman of Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga and a human rights lawyer, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) as the helmsmen.
President Jonathan who announced this, yesterday, in a nationwide broadcast said that the federal government has also approved N17.6 billion for this purpose even as it provided N1.409 billion for short gap measures to give succour to victims of these natural disasters.
He noted that out of the said amount, the sum of N13.3 billion has been allotted to affected States, while N4.3 billion will be given to federal government agencies directly involved in flood amelioration programme.
Jonathan gave the assurance that his administration would remain committed to the welfare and wellbeing of all Nigerians at all times.
The committee, according to him will be co-chaired by Alhaji Dangote and Agbakoba (SAN), while business magnate, Dr. Adenuga Jr? will work? with them as the chief funds’ mobiliser.
Specifying how the relief funds are to be shared among the states, the president said, “Based on the present assessment, the states have been categorised into four groups A to D. category A states, made up of eight states of Adamawa, Oyo, Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Benue, Plateau? will receive N500Million each. Category B states which include Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Taraba, Cross River, Edo, Lagos and Imo, will get N400Million each.
?“Category C states, made up of Kwara, Katsina, Gombe, Ogun, Ondo, Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers will get N300Million each,? while category D states Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Borno and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,? will receive N250Million each.”
Commiserating with those who lost their loved ones and properties in the flood, Jonathan promised that the Vice President Namadi Sambo and himself would personally visit the affected states and victims.
He said, “The Technical Committee will continue to go round the country, while the Vice President Namadi Sambo and I will visit some. When we receive the committee’s final reports, the federal government will further initiate medium and long term measures to check future flood disasters. In the meantime, federal government agencies have intervened to provide reliefs to the affected persons in collaboration with the state governments”.
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