TheCable

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says it has commenced the distribution of relief items to 650 households affected by the flood that ravaged Bauchi communities in 2022.

Speaking during the distribution on Thursday, Suleiman Muhammad, assistant director of relief and rehabilitation at NEMA, said the items will be shared with affected persons in 20 LGAs.

Muhammad said the distribution of relief items was in collaboration with the Bauchi state Emergency Management Agency.

He said the exercise was part of the 2023 National Special Economic and Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) programme for 2022 flood victims including vulnerable persons in the state.

“We are starting with the first phase of distribution to be followed by two other phases,” NAN quoted Muhammad as saying.

“The verification of registered flood victims for the SNELEI intervention was designed to provide support for victims of the 2022 disaster, targeting 13,226 households across Bauchi state.

“The relief materials include food items, livelihood support tools, and seedlings, among others, which will be distributed directly to victims to build their socio-economic resilience.”

Some of the relief items distributed include rice, beans, soya beans, maize, groundnut oil, blankets, mattresses, mats, stoves, pots, soaps and mosquito nets.

Others are seedlings, pesticides, fertilizer, sewing and grinding machines, and sprayers, among others.

The National Economic Council (NEC) had earlier said that 16 states in Nigeria were affected by floods in 2022.

The flood affected about 104 houses and displaced 172,000 across the country.

In July, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) expressed readiness to work with relevant stakeholders to adopt a “comprehensive” plan to address flooding in parts of the country.