The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Farouq yesterday said her ministry was not aware of any $1m donation or pledge from the United States as humanitarian aid for flood victims in Nigeria.

The minister also said Bayelsa State which is reeling under floods is not among the ten most hit states, saying that Jigawa recorded the highest number of death and was the number one of the states affected by the disaster.

The Minister also said her ministry was not aware of any $1 million donation or pledge from the United States as humanitarian aid for flood victims in Nigeria.

Speaking at the 56th session of the State House briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Farouq, who was responding to questions on the $1m support to Nigeria for flood victims through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said she was not aware of any pledge or donation to that effect.

Recently, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, reportedly said the $1m donation was coming to the state to assist the flood victims.

Leonard regretted the unusually heavy rainfall and resulting flooding that has affected nearly 2.8 million people across the country, with many homes being damaged or destroyed, displacing millions of people.

“We are filled with grief for the flood victims who have lost so much – livelihoods, homes, and even loved ones. The United States continues to stand with the people of Nigeria during this extremely difficult time,” Leonard said.

The US said the donation provided through the USAID will allow local partners on the ground to provide emergency shelter assistance, relief commodities, and hygiene kits to promote safe and healthy practices, adding that “it would also curb cholera outbreak and multipurpose cash assistance for people impacted by the devastating floods.”

But the Minister said she did not know where the information was coming from as no such money has come to her ministry.

“We have not received one dollar as a ministry from any organisation. I am not aware of this and it has not come to me officially,” she declared.

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*FG sets up temporary camps in 22 states

Meanwhile, the minister said the Federal Government has erected 44 temporary shelters in 22 states that were affected by the flood disaster and even evacuated those living within the areas that are prone to flood, adding that those who refused to heed the early warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) were more hit in the devastation.

She, however, said that relief materials have also been sent to Bayelsa State.

Reacting to the claim recently made by the Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, that as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, she was not humane over the treatment of areas hit by floods in Bayelsa and other parts of the South, she said it is Jigawa that is the most affected by the current floods.

Recall that Clark had said, “We have a humanitarian minister that is not humane, who was only active in carryout school feeding of school children who were confined to their homes during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“In such an urgent situation of ravaging flood, she has decided to maintain a disquieting quietness. Bodies like the National Emergency Agency (NEMA), were not able to take proactive measures. Where is the mother of the nation, the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari? Her fellow women are in deep agony, seeing their children dying of starvation and treatable minor illnesses because there is no medication.”

However, in her response, Farouk said the Ministry had taken relief materials to Bayelsa through the Nigerian Air Force.

Acknowledging that the entire Bayelsa state was affected, the Minister said, “Almost all of Bayelsa, but it will also interest you to know that Bayelsa is not even amongst the 10 most hit. I think Jigawa is number one and we have taken intervention to Bayelsa and it’s still ongoing. We’re using the Nigerian Air Force to access the inaccessible areas.

“These are natural disasters, we just hope and pray that we don’t see that again. It is a global phenomenon and the government is up and doing in this regard,” she added.

On the allegation that she was not humane, she said it was not true, noting that the flood disaster is a national issue and she is performing her duty to the best of her ability.

According to her, “Merely looking at me, you know that I am humane. Let me use this opportunity to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Lives have been lost, very unfortunate. There were early warnings and hence, early actions by all; the national sub-nationals and even individuals that were prone to this disaster.

“We have erected temporary shelters, about 44 of them in 22 states, some people moved to those shelters, while others did not, very unfortunate and I think at this point, I quite agree that there should be enforcement going forward.

“We’ve mentioned 12,000 metric tons that were given to us by the Ministry of Agriculture, but that is in addition to other interventions, it’s not just the 12,000 metric tons. If you look at it, I didn’t mention rice and other food items and even non-food items that we have provided. So it’s not just the 12,000 metric tons that were provided.”

The Minister said there was a donation of N1.5bn worth of foodstuff by the Dangote-led Flood Committee through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to be distributed to the affected persons.

She denied the allegation that relief materials meant for the downtrodden to ameliorate the effect of COVID-19 were looted and diverted and later discovered in personal warehouses.

Fielding a question on whether the government has any plan to enforce evacuation orders from NIMET, she said, “Yes, enforcement is very key and I think going forward that is what should be done so that it shouldn’t be a matter of choice for one to be evacuated. It shouldn’t be because we are talking about human lives here. That will have to be done.

“We have, as I mentioned, evacuated those that agreed to be evacuated. Some people feel these are their ancestral places and so they do not want to leave, or they will not leave and then they face the consequences, but we hope that next time people will heed these early warnings and then will heed the evacuation programme.”

Asked how many states were affected by the flood she visited, she said, “We are in all the states. Myself, I’ve not been to all the states and you mentioned this issue of the Humanitarian Minister not being humane, this is a natural issue that we are facing and I think, with every sense of responsibility, I’m carrying out my duties to the best of my abilities, the best I can in service to this nation and service to humanity”

She also affirmed that farmers who lost farmlands as a result of the floods will get compensation from the federal government at the end of a comprehensive impact assessment by the National Food Security Council, to ensure food security in the country next year.

*Gov Diri fumes over FG’s indifference to state 

Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, has issued a scathing criticism of the Federal Government over its seeming indifference to the plight of affected communities in the state.

Diri made this assertion yesterday during an Arise TV interview.

He said no official from the Federal Government had visited the state despite repeated calls and appeals.

The Bayelsa State Governor said, “We believe this is the time we needed the Federal Government as a father and since a month now with the state under waters, I have made calls and appeals but no one FG official, in form of the President, Vice President or the Minister is yet to visit us or deploy their federal might.

“The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs is yet to call the Bayelsa Government to commiserate too. Nonetheless, we don’t want to over-flog the issue so we are still appealing to them to help Bayelsa.”

He, therefore, appealed for a holistic approach to tackling the environmental hazards, rather than neglecting the states in the guise of issuing early warnings