The National Economic Council on Thursday approved N83.21 billion to implement an Anticipatory Action Task Force to mitigate the impact of flooding and other climate-related disasters nationwide.
This came as the Council held its 158th meeting, presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu, who briefed State House correspondents alongside other governors, said the Council approved N83.21bn after receiving an initial request of N166.42bn tabled by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu. He said the council ultimately resolved to approve only half of what was requested, while committing to revisit the framework at subsequent meetings.
Responding to questions on the rationale for the 50 per cent cut, Otu explained that the reduction was based on a resource-conscious initial step and not a rejection of the urgency of the request. The proposal had sought approval for the disbursement of N166.42 billion through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) mechanism to designated implementing agencies and beneficiaries.
Prince Otu explained that the intervention funds mark a significant shift from the country’s traditional disaster response model, which often focused on post-disaster relief rather than preventive action. He explained that NEC recognized the growing threat posed by annual flooding and agreed that the government must move from a reactive to a preventive approach in tackling natural disasters.
The approval comes amid forecasts of severe flooding in several parts of the country during the 2026 rainy season and growing efforts by federal and state governments to strengthen disaster preparedness and climate resilience.
Briefing on the proposed National Regional Development Policy (NRDP) 2026-2030, presented by the Ministry of Regional Development as a framework for promoting balanced and inclusive development across Nigeria, the governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, said the policy had become imperative in view of persistent spatial inequalities, fragmented regional interventions, alignment with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2026-2030, and the need to institutionalize global best practices in regional development planning.
Governor Yusuf explained that the policy seeks to provide strategic oversight for the formulation and implementation of regional development initiatives, coordinate development master plans for the regional development commissions in collaboration with state governments, and supervise the operations of the commissions.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, responding to the same line of questioning, said the funding represented only the first phase that would consider immediate intervention with longer-term infrastructure solutions, including reservoirs designed to address flooding driven by the periodic release of water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam.
The framework is also expected to align regional development programs with the Tinubu administration’s priority areas, including economic growth, food security, national security, energy development, infrastructure expansion, education, healthcare, social investment, industrialization, innovation, and the digital economy.
Among the key proposals before the council were the endorsement of the NRDP 2026-2030, approval of the Regional Development Policy Framework mechanism, support for state-level adoption of the policy, and backing for the establishment of a Regional Development Bank.
At the end of deliberations, NEC directed the Minister of Regional Development to circulate the draft policy to state governors for review and input while also mandating consultations with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to secure broad sub-national participation and ownership.
The council said the initiative would deepen cooperation between the federal and state governments, strengthen the operations of the regional development commissions, and provide a coordinated framework for addressing development imbalances across the federation.