In the wake of the recent flood disaster in Maiduguri, Borno State, and some other parts of the country, FEC rose from its meeting yesterday and constituted a committee to re-assess the Alau Dam and others across the country to prevent reoccurrence.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Bola Tinubu, mandated the Committee to develop detailed designs and recommendations for the overall reconstruction of the Alau Dam for future use.
Addressing newsmen after the FEC meeting, Minister of Water Resources, Prof Joseph Utsey, disclosed that the Council extensively deliberated on the flood situation across the country with emphasis on Maiduguri flooding. Members of the constituted committee on the review of Alau dam and others were the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Security, Abubakar Kyari; and a few others.
Also speaking, Edun told newsmen that the Council established a Disaster Relief Fund. He explained that the Fund would focus on financing and bringing together funding from the three tiers of the government, the private sector and the international philanthropic organisations to build a resilient response to climate disaster occurrences across the country.
Acknowledging existing relief funds domiciled with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Flood Relief Funds set up in 2012, the Minister said that the President directed the set-up of the Fund to mitigate the climate challenges. He emphasised the importance of pooling funds from various sectors and being prepared when disasters strike.
