NEC approves N83.2bn to fight flooding and climate issues

The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved N83.2 billion to help reduce the impact of expected flooding and other climate-related emergencies across Nigeria.

The approval was made on Thursday at the 158th NEC meeting led by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

A statement from Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), said the funds will support the Anticipatory Action Task Force (AATF). This task force aims to tackle flooding and related disasters before they happen.

This decision came after a presentation by the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, who pointed out the need for proactive steps to deal with ongoing flood problems across the country, especially during the rainy season.

Increasing flood threats

The intervention happens as government agencies warn of severe flooding in many areas of Nigeria this year.

Nigeria's 2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP), released by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), predicts early-to-normal rainfall in the South and Middle Belt, higher-than-normal temperatures nationwide, and a long August break lasting between 28 and 40 days in parts of the South-west.

Likewise, the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO), published by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in April, identified 14,118 communities across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as areas at high risk for flooding.

Nigeria has faced serious flood disasters in recent years. In the last five years, flooding has killed over 1,500 people, displaced more than 1.4 million, and destroyed thousands of homes, ruining farmlands and damaging key infrastructure in various states.

On Thursday, NEC said this intervention shows a commitment to proactive disaster management instead of just reacting after emergencies occur. The council noted how important the AATF is for improving readiness and lessening the harsh impact of disasters across the country.

It emphasized that disaster management should focus on anticipation and prevention instead of just reacting.

Shettima calls for real results

During the meeting, Mr Shettima said President Bola Tinubu's reform plan must start delivering clear benefits to Nigerians.

He mentioned that the council's success will be judged by how it improves the lives of everyday people, especially farmers, manufacturers, vulnerable groups, unemployed youths, and future generations.

"When this Council last met, I called our economy a workshop. A place of measurement and correction. A place where plans are turned into systems, and systems into institutions, before any of it becomes prosperity.

"A workshop is judged by one thing, not by the plans pinned to its walls, but by what comes off the bench. We return to that bench today. Not to admire the image, but to ask the question that honors it. Is the work taking shape?" he said.

The vice president stated that Nigeria is moving from stabilizing the economy to growth driven by production and from creating policies to making them happen.

"The assignment has not changed. We remain a federation moving from stabilization to production, from aspiration to implementation, from isolated interventions to coordinated national growth. What has changed, I hope, is our closeness to delivery," he said.

He added that government policies must ensure that vulnerable citizens are not overlooked.

"A federation does not earn its prosperity by leaving its most vulnerable behind and hoping they catch up. The dignity of the citizen with the least is the floor beneath which we have resolved that no Nigerian shall fall," he said.

Mr Shettima also called on state governments to work with the federal government in tackling logistical and regulatory challenges affecting agricultural exports.

He stressed that Nigeria must stop exporting raw materials while importing finished products.

"We cannot continue to export raw materials and import finished prosperity," he said.

According to him, Nigeria's economic change relies on building a connected value chain that links farms to factories, factories to standards, standards to ports, and ports to international markets.

The vice president promised that the government would work on problems at the nation's ports and improve compliance with international export standards to boost the competitiveness of Nigerian products.

"A nation that cannot move its goods has imprisoned its own farmers. Meeting international standards is not submission to foreign demand. It is the price of the markets that will reward our labor," he added.