Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, (NECA) has raised the alarm over recent flood ravaging many parts of the country, saying it had worsened the socio-economic woes of Nigerians.
Director-General, DG, of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, who said the situation demanded urgent attention from all and sundry, warned that it had further compounded the situation, compelling many to migrate from their abode to other higher grounds with various social, economic and unemployment consequences.
He said: “The consequences of the flood on the already fragile economy and pauperized citizens can only be imagined. The destruction of personal and economic infrastructure has invariably created circumstantial economic refugees.
”While the causes of the floods remain controversial, the reality of billions of Naira lost and lives prematurely wiped away cannot be denied.
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“As the citizens grapple with high inflation rate, high cost of living, increasing cost of gas and businesses forced to operate in an increasingly hostile Regulatory environment, the flood has further compounded the situation, compelling many to migrate from their abode to other higher grounds with various social, economic and unemployment consequences.
“The economic loss of the flood is massive, highlighting the devastating loss of a 100 hectares of rice farm in Nasarawa owned by Olam Agric, worth over $140million, offices and shops washed away, as well as the imminent food and unemployment crisis that these portend.
“Historically, Nigeria has been more focused on post-disaster flood response than control. Reducing and addressing exposure to flood risk should now be a national priority in the government’s disaster risk management agenda.
(C)ControlTV2022.
