Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has formally tendered his resignation of membership of the House.
Gbajabiamila officially presented his letter of resignation to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas at Wednesday’s plenary of the House.
The former Speaker had been appointed as Chief of Staff by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Meanwhile, the House in a resolution on a motion he earlier moved, issued a summon on the Director–General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other
agencies of the federal government of Nigeria to brief the House on the measures in place to mitigate flood disasters and manage the socio-economic impact on the citizens
resident in the flood-prone areas.
The House called for the liaising of the relevant Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the relocation of Nigerians from the most flood-prone areas, as well as ensure the Federal Government of Nigeria stockpiles sufficient quantities of temporary shelter materials, food and nutrition items and medicine to support people in flood-prone areas.
The House further encouraged communication between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the state governments
to ensure effective collaboration to prevent the worst outcomes in flood-prone areas.
Gbajabiamila in the motion he titled; Need to Commence Active Measures to Mitigate the Probable Devastation of a Severe Flood Season and prepare Palliative Intervention to Prevent the worst Socio-Economic Consequences for Nigerians in the Affected Areas noted that “a large portion of the country from North to South, East to West is prone to annual destructive flooding incidents which recurring events have, in recent years, increased significantly in severity and the extent of the devastation of lives and property.”
According to him, “The 2023 Annual Flood Outlook prepared by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency shows that 178 (One Hundred and Seventy-Eight) Local Government Areas in 32 (thirty-two) States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory fall within the highly probable flood risk areas.”
He said Nigeria is yet to recover from the 2022 flood, which affected more than 4 million Nigerians, displaced over two million people, caused the death of six hundred and sixty-five (665) people, damaged about three hundred and fifty-five thousand nine hundred and eighty-six (355,986) houses and homesteads and destroyed an estimated total of nine hundred and forty-four thousand, nine hundred and eighty-nine thousand (944,989) hectares of farmland.