…As agency claims spending N112.13bn on disaster management
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said it has spent N112.13 billion from consolidated accruals and ecological fund utilisation on disaster management in the country from 2011 to 2022.
This is just as members of the House of Representatives Committee on Ecology expressed displeasure with the disclosure by the Director-General of NEMA, Ahmed Mustapha, that the agency reached out to over 1,427,370 persons displaced by the flood disaster across the nation.
Mustapha, who appeared before the committee that is investigating the total consolidated accruals and utilisation of ecological funds, said unlike other appropriated finance, balances from the funds are rolled over to a next fiscal year.
The Director-General told the committee that documents for the 2010 expenditure were not available as they were destroyed during the ENDSARS protests, and police extract to that effect has been obtained.
He lamented that the 2022 flood disaster was the worst flood disaster in the history of Nigeria, saying it was far more devastating than the 2012 flood, which was hitherto considered unprecedented in the country’s history.
The NEMA boss also said the provision of food and non-food items for immediate relief and building materials to facilitate long term rehabilitation of those affected by flood was ongoing.
However, a member of the committee, Oghuma Johnson, who frowned at Mustapha’s statement, accused NEMA of favouring a particular region of the country in their relief materials distribution selection process.
The lawmaker, who later staged a walk out, said the Director-General was partial, as the impact of their distribution claims was not seen or felt in his constituency and Edo State as a whole.
Similarly, the chairman of the committee, Ibrahim Isiaka, said the NEMA boss was not doing enough to reach out to all Nigerians who are to be served by agency
Also, another committee member, Adewunmi Onanuga said she has written twice to NEMA with regards to issues in her state , Ogun, and constituency, not once has anyone replied to her? The lawmaker said she has issues with the way the agency is being run, stating that not once did they get any information with regards to what NEMA is doing in the whole of that South-West.
Earlier, the committee’s chairman, Isiaka, fumed at the absence of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) at the probe to defend the amount they received and how it was spent.
The lawmaker threatened that the House might rescind its decision on any support given to the 774 local governments and MDAs if they continue this way.
