9th September, 2011
Nigeria lost assets worth N300 billion this year to flood disasters, according to the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED), an NGO.
Mr. Ewah Eleri, the Executive Director of the organisation, disclosed this on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Eleri said the assets included houses, roads, bridges, farmlands and crops, among others.
“Nigeria has lost assets worth N300 billion which is equivalent to 2 percent of the GDP to flood across the country this year alone.
“This is apart from the loss of many Nigerians which cannot be measured in monetary value,” he said.
In order to curtail the devastating effects of floods, Eleri underscored the need for President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the National Climate Change Commission Bill into law.
He said that if the bill was signed into law, it would help to address some of the environmental problems in the country caused by climate change, including flooding.
He noted that the bill had since been passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly and expressed concern over the delay in the president’s assent.
Eleri, however, commended Jonathan for setting up a strong team to drive the power sector reforms.
He said that if the nation’s abundant gas resources were utilised for generating electricity, it would reduce the volume of gas being flared daily in the Niger Delta.