Dangote has begun distributing relief goods worth N1.5 billion to flood victims.

Dangote has begun distributing relief goods worth N1.5 billion to flood victims.

The Dangote-led Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation (PCFRR), also known as the Dangote Flood Committee, has started providing aid to flood victims across the country in the amount of N1.5 billion.

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The PCFRR, which was established by the Federal Government, following the 2012 flooding, is co-chaired by Africa’s foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, and Dr. Olisa Agbakoba. NewsReport gathered.

The flag off ceremony for this year’s distribution started in Borno State and was conducted by the state governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, in Maiduguri, the state capital, yesterday.

The governor thanked the Dangote Flood Committee and promised he would ensure the items get to the victims. UNICEF revealed that the 2022 flood killed 600 people, displaced 1.3 million and destroyed more than 82,000 homes in Nigeria, making it the worst in decades.

Representative of the Dangote-led Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation (PCFRR), Alhaji Umar Musa Gulani, assured, at the flag off for the northeast zone, that the exercise will also be conducted in the other five geopolitical zones of the country.

Gulani said items from the committee have been officially handed over to the Borno State Government and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The breakdown of items donated includes 86 bags of rice; 34 bags of beans; 34 bags of maize; 34 bags of millet; 34 bags of Guinea corn; 34 bags of Garri; 86 cartons of noodles; 86 cartons of spaghetti; 86 cartons of macaroni; 86 bags of sugar and 857 bags of cement, among several food and non-food items.

Gulani said over N10 billion has been expended by the committee to mitigate effect of flooding, since inception in 2012, adding that no fewer than 84 hostels have been built for flood victims in 24 states of Nigeria.

According to him, “this private sector-led project is highly commendable and it has been sustained in the past 10 years. It is a selfless service from the private sector and Nigerians should appreciate the selfless service to humanity.”

Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed, described the committee’s intervention as a milestone for Nigeria in general, and flood victims in particular.

“Responding to the humanitarian outcomes of this nature requires concerted effort,” he said, adding that the donation by the Dangote Flood Committee will eventually be made available to flood victims across affected states in Nigeria.

Speaking on behalf of the victims, Khalifa El-Miskin said the victims were extremely appreciative of the gesture. It will be recalled that the committee also, recently, during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, donated N1.5 billion to fight the virus. Announcing the donation, Dangote said it was imperative for well-meaning Nigerians to help the Federal Government fight the virus.

The committee also, recently, provided N250 million as relief assistance to victims of devastating floods in Benue State. Aside from the donation in Benue, the Dangote-led committee also revealed that it donated N150 million (in kind) to provide relief assistance to flood victims in Anambra State.

It also released N118 million to NEMA to augment the N1.6 billion released by the Federal Government for procurement of food and non-food relief materials in aid of the flood victims in the following 16 states: Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Abuja FCT, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, and Sokoto.