Edo, Among States To Benefit From Nigerian Red Cross Flood Resilience Project

By Idahosa Moses

Benin City, Nigeria – Edo is among the 12 states slated to benefit from the Nigerian Red Cross Flood Resilience Project sponsored by the Italian government, the State branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society said on Tuesday.

The benefiting states are, Edo, Gombe, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Enugu, Bornu, Ogun, Sokoto, Niger and Lagos.

Mr. Wilson Ekhomogiazin, Branch Secretary, Nigerian Red Cross Society, Edo State chapter, disclosed this in Benin during a one-day stakeholders’ engagement on flooding with the theme: Flood response, recovery and resilience.

He said from the 12 states, 400,000 households are going to benefit from the project.

Mr. Ekhomogiazin said in 2024, flood impacted negatively on one million Nigerians and that steps are underway to mitigate this year’s flood on Nigerians especially those living in flood prone areas of the country.

On his part, the state chairman of the association, Pastor Monday Edogiawerie, said the Nigerian Red Cross Society was set to implement the Flood Resilience Project in two selected local government areas in the state.

According to him, the local government areas include, Esan South East and Etsako Central Local Government Areas of the state.

Pastor Edogiawerie listed the key components of the Flood Resilience Project to includes, training of 50 community volunteers on preparedness, Rapid Response and Recovery, continued rainfall and water level monitoring, activation of early warning and early action protocols, rehabilitation of public water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, pre-positioning of shelter materials to affected households, needs and shelter assessment and strengthening of community-based resilience.

Edogiawerie added that the Edo State Branch will further engage 25 community volunteers from Illushi, Odegume, Ifeku Island and Okpokporo community in Esan South East LGA and another 25 from Udaba, Anegbete, Udochi and Ukpeku-Ole Communities from Etsako Central LGA for the project.

Proffering solution to the perennial flood problem in the state, the Assistant Chief Information Officer, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Benin, Mr. Joseph Akpofabe, called on the state government to muster the political will to address the issues by pulling down houses built on waterways, noting that, without that, the problem will persist because water will certainly find its way.

The Executive Secretary of the Edo State Emergency Management Agency (EdoSEMA), Jerry Idahosa, said the agency has intensified its flood sensitization campaigns across 13 local governments, particularly the high-risk areas of Etsako Central, Etsako East, and Esan South East. 

He noted that to have the message trickle down to rural dwellers, the agency has decided to disseminate its information in local languages.

Mr. Idahosa also said that the agency has employed the services of town criers to improve community response.