Provide relief materials for Ebonyi flood victims, Ogah urges FG

The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has called on the Federal Government to urgently provide relief materials for victims of flooding in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state.

Ogah made the call in a motion of urgent public importance on the floor of the House.

He urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South East Development Commission (SEDC), Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to provide food items, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, building materials, medicines, clean water and temporary shelters for the victims.

He also called for emergency agricultural support, including seedlings, fertilisers and other farm inputs, to help the victims recover their livelihoods.

Moving the motion, Ogah said the flood, which occurred in the late hours of September 23, claimed lives, including those of women and children, destroyed over 500 houses, submerged more than 1,000 hectares of rice, yam and cassava farmlands, destroyed livestock and displaced over 2,000 families.

According to him, the displaced persons are currently taking refuge in primary schools and church premises without access to food, potable water, bedding or medical supplies.

He said:

“I rise under Order 8, Rule 5 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to move this motion as a matter of urgent public importance.

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“Notes that, in the early hours of September 23, 2026, unprecedented torrential rainfall caused the Ebonyi and Cross River rivers to overflow their banks, submerging over 10 communities in Ikwo LGA, including Ndiagu Amagu, Ndufu Amagu, Ekpa-Omaka, Okpotiumo, Igbudu, Inyimagu, Enyibichiri, Alike, Amudo and Idembia in Ezza South, as well as other riverine communities.

“Also notes that, according to reports from the Ebonyi State Emergency Management Agency (EBSEMA), the State Ministry of Environment and community leaders, the flood claimed lives, destroyed over 500 houses, submerged more than 1,000 hectares of farmland and displaced over 2,000 families, who are currently taking refuge in primary schools and church premises without food, potable water, bedding or medical supplies.

“Aware that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in its 2025/2026 Seasonal Climate Prediction, listed Ebonyi State, particularly Ikwo, Izzi, Abakaliki and Afikpo LGAs, as high-risk flood zones, yet no proactive dredging, drainage or early warning measures were taken.

“Worried that Ikwo Local Government Area, which is the food basket of Ebonyi State and contributes significantly to Nigeria’s rice production, is now facing imminent food insecurity as a result of the disaster, with properties worth billions of naira lost, including 15 schools, shops at the building materials market and farmlands.

“Concerned that victims are presently sleeping in open spaces and are exposed to waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and malaria.”

Ogah therefore urged NEMA, SEDC, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to urgently provide relief materials and agricultural support to displaced persons in Ikwo LGA and its environs.

He also urged the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ecological Fund Office to immediately release ecological intervention funds for the dredging of the Ebonyi River, the construction of embankments and the completion of the EIB-NEWMAP drainage project in the state to prevent a recurrence of the disaster.