Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House of Representatives on Saturday condoled with the government and people of Benue State over the flooding that displaced over 100,000 people in the state and destroyed properties in 12 Local Government Areas.
The Speaker also expressed deep sympathy for all the victims who lost their livelihoods, homes, business, farmlands, and families of those who died in the unfortunate natural disaster.
He disclosed that the House is at the final stages of providing legal framework to address natural disasters caused by the effects of climate change.
“I sympathise with the government and people of Benue State over the loss caused by the floods that ravaged their homes, farmlands and businesses and displacement of over 100,000 people from their homes.
“This is one flooding too many and emphasises the urgent need for targeted solutions to the problems affecting our environment.
“The House of Representatives has already gone far in this regard, with a Bill for the establishment of an agency dealing exclusively with Climate Change issues.”
He further enjoined “National Emergency Management Agency, Ecological Funds Office and other relevant government agencies to urgently come to the aid of Benue State and the victims.”
Samuel Onuigbo, Chairman, House Committee on Climate Change ho spoke at the public hearing on the bill which seeks to establish the Climate Change Commission in July 2017, had emphasised the need to factor issues of climate change into national development plans with a view to addressing it holistically and improving the living standard of the citizenry.
Onuigbo said developing countries like Nigeria are suffering the effects of climate change, much more than the developed nations whose advanced industrial activities contribute more to the destruction of the ozone layer.
According to him, the reality of the threat posed by climate change statistics as captured by United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) stated that 6.5 million premature deaths result every year from air pollution linked to the energy system.
He added that an average of 26.4 million people have been displaced from their homes by natural disasters every year since 2008 equivalent to one person every second and one third of the world’s arable land jeopardized by land degradation, triggering economic losses of $6.3 to 10.6 trillion per year.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
