National Economic Council (NEC) has called for the strengthening of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) across the 36 states of the federation to address the impending flood effects.
Gatekeepers News reports that the council also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to release emergency funds to support flood preparedness and response initiatives.
This resolution was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, on Thursday.
The council’s decision followed a presentation by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, on the country’s 2025 flood preparedness and response initiatives.
NEC directed local government areas and communities to take ownership of local risk mitigation efforts, engage actively in awareness campaigns, and report early signs of flood risk to appropriate authorities. The council also directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to release funds to each state of the Federation, the FCT, and some Federal Agencies for this year’s flood preparedness.
NEMA’s presentation highlighted the agency’s progress in flood preparedness, including the production of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy and Action Plan (2024-2027) and ongoing validation of the Nigeria Hazard Risk Countrywide Analysis for 2024. The agency has also improved civil-military coordination on disaster risk reduction and relief operations.
Despite these efforts, NEMA identified persistent challenges hindering effective flood response, including weak drainage infrastructure, delayed data reporting from states, insecurity in flood-prone areas, and limited functionality of SEMAs.
NEC, therefore, urged state governments to fully strengthen SEMAs, operationalise Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs), enforce physical planning laws and building code compliance, and institutionalise monthly environmental sanitation while prioritising disaster preparedness funding in annual budgets.
“The Emergency Operations Centre was activated on May 29, 2025, with national and zonal centres now operational,” NEMA reported, adding that it had deployed search and rescue equipment to high-risk states and continues downscaling early warning messages across all 36 states to local communities.
