The Nigerian government donated several billions of
naira and other relief materials to affected states.
A non-governmental association has accused
the federal and state governments of not doing enough to assuage the
suffering of victims of 2012 floods across Nigeria.
The Human Rights Writers Association of
Nigeria, HURIWA, said there has been poor distribution of
relief materials to victims and called on appropriate governments to be
“transparent, fair and accountable in their encounter with flood victims.”
In a statement jointly endorsed by its
National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko; and the National Director of
Media Affairs, Zainab Yusuf; the association condemned the N3, 000 offered
to flood victims by a state government, Kogi.
Many of the Kogi victims
rejected the money, while victims in other states like Taraba, Plateau have also cried of abandonment.
The group said the amount was condemnable considering
“the several Billions of Naira raised by both the Aliko Dangote-led flood
victims rehabilitation presidential panel and the funds disbursed from
the presidency by President Goodluck Jonathan last year.”
HURIWA also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the groundswell of allegations that the fund for
the flood victims are being systematically stolen and/or mismanaged
by state government officials.
The group suggested that “community -based,
faith-based organizations and credible civil society organizations in the
affected states be constituted into Independent monitoring groups to
ensure the transparent disbursement of these huge public fund to the right victims of last year’s floods.”
It also wants governments at all levels to
bring to book all indicted officials who have siphoned these public fund
released for the purposes of providing funding support and lifelines to the actual victims
of the 2012 flood disaster across the country.
The group advocated proactive measures to
avoid the repeat of last year’s flood disaster, and called on Nigerians to
embrace environmental sanitation as a daily obligation.
“We are unhappy that state governments which
got hundreds of millions of fund to ameliorate the predicaments of the
flood victims are now allowing rogue officials to feed fat on these
resources meant for the poor. This inhuman and unfair treatment of the
victims of last year’s flood disaster must stop,” the group said.
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