Over one million persons have been displaced by the recent floods in Nigeria, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Mrs Sadiya Umar-Farouq said on Friday.
She spoke at an event to mark the National Day of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria.
“I empathise with millions of Nigerians who have been impacted by the recent flooding in Nigeria. The devastating effects have sadly led to the displacement of over a million Nigerians nationwide,” the minister said at the Presidential Banquet Hall in Abuja.
In another comment on her Twitter handle, she said “we have established 44 shelters in 24 states and most of the persons of concern have been evacuated onto higher planes. NEMA has deployed interventions.
“We have established 44 shelters in 24 states and most of the persons of concern have been evacuated onto higher planes.”
In 2012, 363 people died and more than 2.1 million were displaced by flooding.
Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected by climate change and many of its economies are already struggling from the ripple effects of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Rice producers have warned that the devastating floods could impact prices in the country of some 200 million people where rice imports are banned to stimulate local production.
The World Food Programme and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said last month that Nigeria was among six countries facing a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.