Mokwa Flood: Stop Treating Ecological Funds As ‘Slush Fund,’ NLC Tells FG

The Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Audu T. Amba, on Friday, condemned the recent flood disaster in Mokwa town, Niger State, describing it as a major humanitarian and environmental crisis requiring urgent and coordinated action by government authorities.

At least 150 bodies are said to have been recovered, more than 250 persons receiving treatment, and dozens remain unaccounted for.

The flood also destroyed homes, food supplies, livestock, and other properties in the community.

In a statement, the NLC stressed that disasters of this scale underscore the vulnerability of Nigerian communities and the urgent need for a more proactive and structured national response.

“It is not enough to ask people to relocate to higher or safer grounds in light of the comparative deficit of means of survival in those grounds.

“The government must be seen to be proactive in risk-mapping as well as step up its reaction time,” the NLC said.

The labour body expressed sympathy with the government and people of Niger State, particularly residents of Mokwa, and warned that the increasing frequency of flooding highlights the worsening impact of climate change, especially on developing nations.

Amba traced the country’s recent flood history, citing the 2012 disaster linked to the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon, which was among the worst in Africa, and the more devastating 2022 flood that affected 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to reports, the 2022 floods impacted 3.2 million people, displaced 1.5 million, killed 600, injured over 2,400, destroyed 300,000 homes, and damaged over 500,000 hectares of farmland.

In 2024 alone, floods reportedly killed more than 1,200 people, injured 2,712, and displaced 1.2 million.

Between 1994 and 2014, Amba said flooding had affected 11 million people and destroyed assets worth over $17bn.

The NLC criticised the recurring failure to address the root causes of flooding, including poor dam management, substandard drainage systems, and weak environmental planning.

“Old mistakes, including the poor management of water releases from dams such as Lagdo in Cameroon, the shabby maintenance of Nigerian dams, and a complacent drainage system are often repeated,” the statement said.

Experts have linked the Mokwa flood to inadequate drainage infrastructure, a concern the NLC said must be addressed through comprehensive engineering solutions.

It called for the construction of large, well-maintained stormwater channels to direct runoff and dam discharges away from populated areas.

“This requires conscious efforts by the government to build large storm drains, which must be properly covered to prevent siltation and refuse dumping by irresponsible persons,” he said.

NLC emphasised that workers and low-income citizens often bear the brunt of such disasters, as their homes, workplaces, and livelihoods are more vulnerable to environmental shocks.

Several schools, hospitals, and business premises in Mokwa were reportedly destroyed or shut down, disrupting essential services and economic activity in the region.

While acknowledging the intervention of federal and state authorities in providing emergency relief, the NLC called for long-term measures such as “routine structural audits of Nigeria’s dams and the implementation of delayed flood control infrastructure like the Dasin Hausa catchment dam in Adamawa State.”

He also recommended “strengthening disaster risk forecasting, early warning systems, and emergency evacuation processes. Improving occupational safety and health standards in workplaces was also highlighted as critical to reducing disaster-related risks.”

“Every Nigerian life counts and must be accounted for through diligent undertaking of the duty of care by the state,” the congress stated.

In conclusion, the NLC called for greater climate resilience and more responsible use of government ecological funds.

Amba added, “It is important to note that ecological fund should not be seen as a slush fund for settling compatriots in crime but should be deployed to our ecological needs.”

Mokwa Flood: Stop Treating Ecological Funds As ‘Slush Fund,’ NLC Tells FG is first published on The Whistler Newspaper