FG Votes N17.6bn For Flood Victims: Tasks Govs, LGs On SWF,Unity …Jonathan Presents 2013 Budget, ’Morrow

Head of Service, Barr Samuel LongJohn (middle), Permanent Secretary Service Welfare, Mr Lambert Ekwueme (left) and Director of Admin, Mrs Josephine Chukuigwe, during a meeting with staff of the department, recently

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the establishment
of a 34-man National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation to raise
funds in support of government’s efforts to provide urgent relief for victims
of recent floods across the country.

The president announced the establishment of the committee
during a nationwide broadcast yesterday.

“Over the past few weeks, unprecedented floods have ravaged
many parts of our country, rendering tens of thousands of fellow Nigerians
homeless, and causing massive destruction of property, farmlands and
infrastructure,” he said in a televised address.

“I want to reassure all Nigerians that the Federal
Government is prepared to do everything possible to mitigate the impact of this
natural disaster,” he added.

The committee, which includes members of international
agencies, religious organisations, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs),
will be co-chaired by Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Mr. Aliko Dangote.

According to him, the committee has been given the mandate
to raise funds to complement government’s resources for the provision of relief
to flood victims across the country and the post-impact rehabilitation of
affected persons and communities.

The committee has been given a 12-month time-frame to
complete its duties and report back to the president.

The Federal Government, through the office of the Secretary
of the Government of the Federation, will also provide an operational base for
the committee as well as logistics that will aid the smooth operation of the
committee.

President Jonathan also said the Technical Committee on
Flood Impact Assessment has submitted its interim report, which contains
recommendations, to key stakeholders and the leadership of the National
Assembly and governors of the affected states.

The Tide reports that images of stranded villagers perched
on roof tops, buses overturned in flash floods and people traversing
waterlogged farmland by canoe have dotted the media in the last couple of
weeks.

At least, 148 people have been killed around Nigeria and
tens of thousands have abandoned their homes since the beginning of July, with
the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) calling it the worst flooding
in 50 years.

Jonathan recounted the damage the flood has done and will do
to the national treasury saying “the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) has so far spent N1.314 billion to provide immediate relief materials.
The minister of works has spent N556 million in the repair of collapsed bridges
and the construction of by-passes while the minister of environment has spent
N95 million on sundry relief measures”.

He also approved the sum of N17.6 billion to be distributed
to states affected by the flood according to the level of the damages suffered.

He said “the states will receive a total of N13.3 billion
while the government agencies will receive N4.3 billion.”

The states according to the president have been categorized
into four; A, B, C and D.

Category A states which include Oyo, Kogi, Benue, Plateau,
Adamawa, Delta, Bayelsa and Anambra will receive N500 million each.

The B category comprising of Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna,
Niger, Nasarawa, Cross River, Taraba, Imo, Lagos and Edo will receive N400
million each.

The C category which has Kwara, Katsina, Gombe, Ogun, Ondo,
Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers will receive the sum of N300 million each.

The last category, which is D, with Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara,
Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom Borno, Osun states and the Federal Capital
Territory will receive N250 million.

The ministries of Environment and Works, NEMA, National
Commission for Refugees, Technical Committee on Flood Impact Assessment have
been pin pointed by the president as the government agencies that will use the
remaining N4.3 billion to mitigate the impact of the flood around the country.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday appealed to
states governors and local government chairmen to cooperate with the Federal
Government in the implementation of policies aimed at preserving the nation’s
commonwealth.

Jonathan made the appeal on the occasion of the inauguration
of the Board of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) at the State
House, Abuja.

The authority is statutorily charged with the
responsibilities of managing the Sovereign Wealth Fund and administering the
accruing resources for the benefit of present and future generations of
Nigerians.

Jonathan noted that members of the committee, which is being
chaired by one time Deputy Governor of CBN, Mr Mahey Rasheed, were carefully
selected after a rigorous process.

He said the establishment of the Board affirmed the
seriousness of government in pursuing the central tenets of the Fund.

The president said the Sovereign Wealth Fund would, among
others, help to build a savings base for future generation of Nigerians.

He said the Fund would also enhance the development of the
country’s infrastructure and promote fiscal stability in times of economic
stress.

He thanked the Executive Nomination Committee chaired by the
Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for a thorough job in the vetting
and selection process.

Earlier, Okonjo-Iweala had assured the President that the
members of the Board were carefully selected and would make the nation proud.

Our correspondent
recalls that the Sovereign Wealth Fund was statutorily established to
replace the Excess Crude Account.

The Fund, with an initial seed of 1 billion dollars, was set
aside to provide a strong, transparent and effective tool for the management of
the nation’s petroleum wealth for the benefit of Nigerians.

The Tide  also recalls
that state governors, who are averse to the creation of the Fund, have called
for its suspension over alleged grey areas in its implementation.

A suit they filed challenging the implementation of the Fund
is pending before the Supreme Court.

In another development, President Goodluck Jonathan will on
today present the 2013 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly
(NASS).

The President in a letter addressed to Senate President,
David Mark, yesterday in Abuja, which was read out to the senators, urged the
NASS to allow him to present the budget

The Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, moved a motion, which
was unanimously adopted, that the senators move to the House of Representatives
Chamber today to receive the document.

The senators, however, resolved to hold plenary session by
9:am today to enable them quickly deliberate on some issues before the budget
presentation.