Utilise ecological funds to handle flooding, BMO admonishes states, LGAs

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has admonished States and local governments in the country to rise to the challenges of flooding in the country by utilising their shares of the ecological funds in a responsible manner.

The group noted that the ecological fund, as an emergency intervention fund for such a disaster like flooding, is shared among the three tiers of government- federal, states and local governments in the country, and it is incumbent on the States and local governments to tap into their own shares of the ecological fund in tackling the yearly flooding ravaging their various communities.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group noted that prevention and mitigation of flooding and other natural disasters are shared responsibilities.

“The federal government has done tremendously well in tackling the ecological problems including erosion and flooding across the country, and one wonders what the other tiers of government are doing with their own share of the fund.

“The ecological fund is shared in the following order: 36 States including the FCT-0.72%, 774 local government areas- 06%, and the federal government-1.32%. It will be recalled that over time the States and local governments have received over one trillion Naira as their share of the ecological fund, yet they have failed to pay adequate attention to such natural disasters like flooding.

“To date, the Buhari administration has completed 266 ecological projects all over the nation and 66 others are in various stages of completion”.

The group posited that apart from funding ecological projects in various parts of the country, the federal government, through its agencies like Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), periodically issues emergency alerts to the populace on the imminent dangers of flooding and other natural disasters in the country.

“The failure of the State governments to take necessary measures towards containing the problems cannot be blamed on the federal government”.

BMO, therefore, enjoined the States and local governments to be proactive and plan ahead to avoid being taken unawares when such natural disasters occur.