The governors of 19 Northern states have called for urgent collaboration among stakeholders to prevent a recurrence of previous flooding incidents in the country.
Chairman of Northern Governors Forum (NGF) Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state made the call while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said there was the need for urgent and swift action on the implementation of measures to avoid flood disaster in the country.
“The problem of flooding is virtually a national issue now, you know, global warming and climate change is affecting the entire globe, and for that, we are strategising. We would not like a repeat of what happened last year to occur again this year. But in whatever we do, we have to be both proactive and reactive.
“We have not acted in the way that will solve all the problems of last year, and this year has started. So we need to double you know our efforts, we’ll do some little backtracking and move in double cross to catch up with the current trends and do the needful.
“So all hands must be on deck NiMET, the states, NEMA, and whoever has an interest in the environment and environmental control has to come together and work with the government in order to solve the problem,” he said.
On the role of the northern governors forum to tackle the issue, the said: “As the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, I will ensure that we get to the roots of all the problems, and through the support of the Federal government and the various state governments, we will come up with the solutions; things that will trigger positive actions and reactions and very soon by the grace of God, the narrative will change and we will have a peaceful north that is contributing to the development and prosperity of Nigeria.”
