The Federal Government has flag-off the distribution of the Special National Economic and Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) to persons affected by the 2022 flood and most vulnerable persons in Lagos State.
The flag-off ceremony took place at the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Oko-Oba, Agege, a suburb of Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib Ahmed, recalled that the devastating effects of the flood incidence of 2022 left many people homeless.
Represented by Hajia Zainab Saidu, Ahmed said that following the flood, search and rescue operations were successfully carried out in several locations where trapped persons were rescued and given the necessary care.
He said that immediately after the flood incident, damage and loss assessment were conducted and relief items approved by the Federal Government were delivered across the states to complement initial intervention by the state governments.
He added that based on the assessment which was jointly conducted by NEMA and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA’s), the federal government approved the special intervention to assist vulnerable persons across the country and those affected by the flood to support their quick return to normalcy.
“This intervention is also expected to drive the sustainable socio-economic resilience of the targeted most vulnerable individuals.
“NEMA staff were deployed to conduct the verification of the target beneficiaries in collaboration with personnel from SEMAS, the state Agricultural Development Project and other relevant stakeholders.
“A total of 660 884 households were verified and targeted to benefit from the special intervention across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory,” Ahmed said.
The D-G advised the beneficiaries to make judicial use of the items.
He thanked the federal government for the kind gesture if making the intervention possible
The items were classified into food items, non-food items, agricultural inputs and livelihood equipment among others.
Also speaking, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Ms Ruth Abisola Olusanya, thanked the NEMA team and the federal government for always responding to the needs of the most vulnerable, especially victims of flood.
Olusanya charged the beneficiaries of the kindness of the federal government to always remain grateful to the government.
She also extended the gratitude of the governor to the NEMA D-G for his continual support to the state.
She prayed that NEMA would continue to be supportive of the state, especially in terms of emergency.
