* Directs NEMA to provide food, shelter, medical supplies to victims
* Seeks reconstruction of washed-away roads, compensation for farmers
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Senate on Wednesday ordered a nationwide assessment of communities devastated by flooding and erosion, directing relevant federal agencies to provide emergency relief to displaced residents, rebuild damaged roads and assess destroyed farmlands and livestock for possible compensation.
The lawmakers also called for urgent federal intervention in erosion-prone communities in Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo States, warning that recurring environmental disasters had claimed lives, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and cut off communities from essential services.
As part of measures to address the worsening ecological crisis, the Senate mandated its Committees on Environment, Works, Ecology and Climate Change, in collaboration with other relevant committees, to conduct on-the-spot assessments of affected communities nationwide and submit their findings and recommendations within one month.
The resolutions followed three related motions presented during plenary by senators representing constituencies affected by flooding and erosion, who detailed the devastating consequences of the disasters on residents, businesses, agriculture and critical infrastructure.
The Senate specifically urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately provide food, potable water, temporary shelter, medical supplies and other essential relief materials to displaced persons and other victims of the disasters.
It also directed the Federal Ministry of Works and relevant agencies to assess and reconstruct damaged roads, restore access to communities cut off by flooding and erosion, and provide adequate drainage infrastructure to prevent further destruction.
The lawmakers called on the Federal Ministry of Environment to conduct comprehensive technical assessments of affected sites and implement sustainable flood and erosion control measures, including the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of drainage and stormwater management systems.
They further urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to assess the destruction of farmlands, crops and livestock in affected communities in Ebonyi State and provide emergency grants to farmers who had suffered losses.
The Senate stressed the need for a coordinated, long-term rehabilitation and ecological restoration programme, backed by appropriate federal funding, to address the recurring disasters and prevent further loss of lives and property.
The resolutions were expanded to cover affected communities across the country, rather than restricting federal intervention to the South-east, following concerns raised by the lawmakers about the widespread nature of flooding and erosion disasters.
Leading the motion on the devastation caused by flooding and erosion in Anambra State, Senator Victor Umeh drew attention to the loss of lives, destruction of property and disruption of economic and social activities in several communities.
Umeh said at least four persons, including a pregnant woman and a six-year-old pupil of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Primary School, Awka, had died in the disasters, while several families had been displaced and numerous homes submerged.
He identified Ogidi, Obosi and Awka among the affected communities, noting that the destruction had extended to farmlands, economic trees, cash crops, streets and other critical infrastructure.
The senator expressed particular concern over the formation of deep and expanding erosion gullies, including one reportedly measuring more than 60 metres in depth.
He warned that the destruction of roads and other infrastructure had disrupted access to schools and important locations, while worsening insecurity as residents abandoned their homes and ancestral lands in search of safer places to live.
Umeh urged the Federal Government, through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Ecological Fund Office, to recognise the affected communities as requiring urgent national intervention.
He also called on the Federal Ministry of Works to urgently assess and reconstruct damaged roads, particularly the Onitsha-Ogidi-Awka federal road, where flooding had disrupted vehicular movement and other economic activities.
Seconding the motion, Senator Anthony Ani, who represents Ebonyi South, highlighted the devastating flash floods that ravaged communities across his senatorial district in late September 2026.
Ani said torrential rainfall had caused rivers to overflow their banks, submerging residential, commercial and agricultural areas across affected local government areas.
According to him, many residents had lost their homes and household valuables, while extensive agricultural lands, crops and livestock were destroyed, further worsening the economic difficulties confronting affected households.
“Most of the agricultural crops were destroyed. Many livestock in the households were equally destroyed. And so their lives are put into danger,” Ani said.
The senator called for urgent humanitarian assistance to the affected communities, stressing that the destruction of agricultural assets had compounded the hardship facing residents whose livelihoods depended on farming and livestock production.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to assess the extent of the damage to farmlands and livestock and provide emergency grants to farmers who had lost their sources of livelihood.
Ani also called for effective legislative oversight to ensure that NEMA complied with the Senate’s directive to provide relief materials to victims of the disasters.
Similarly, Senator Osita Izunaso raised the alarm over persistent flooding and erosion in communities across Imo West Senatorial District, warning that the situation had continued to deteriorate despite an earlier motion he presented on the problem in 2023.
Izunaso listed several of the affected communities, including Urualla, Obodoukwu, Osina, Abolo, Imo Chima, Imo Eshi, Ise Kenesi, Oso Obodo, Oguta Amishi, Nnefuku and Nkosi autonomous communities across Ideato North, Ideato South and Oguta Local Government Areas.
He said flooding and erosion had continued to destroy homes, businesses, farmlands and roads, exposing motorists and pedestrians to dangerous conditions and contributing to repeated accidents and loss of lives.
“The resulting erosion has washed away roads and also created dangerous conditions for motorists and pedestrians, with accidents and loss of life repeatedly occurring in some affected areas,” Izunaso said.
He called for emergency intervention by NEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Ministry of Works and other relevant agencies to provide relief materials, rehabilitate damaged roads, improve drainage and implement effective erosion control measures.
The senator also advocated a coordinated, long-term rehabilitation and ecological restoration programme, supported by adequate federal funding, to address the recurring environmental disasters and protect vulnerable communities from further destruction.
The Senate’s resolutions reflect growing concerns over the humanitarian and economic consequences of flooding and erosion, particularly in communities where damaged roads, destroyed agricultural assets and displaced households have compounded existing livelihood challenges.
By directing its committees to inspect affected locations nationwide and report within one month, the Senate sought to establish the scale of the destruction and identify the interventions required from relevant federal agencies.
The lawmakers also called for greater coordination among emergency management agencies, environmental authorities and infrastructure ministries to ensure that relief efforts were accompanied by lasting solutions to the underlying ecological problems.
The Senate observed a minute’s silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the flooding disasters.