Over 9000 flood victims in Yobe State are set to benefit from the National Emergency Management Agency’s palliative intervention through the Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) to cushion the effect of flooding in the state.
The State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, launched the palliative distribution exercise at the event facility, Government House, Damaturu.
According to Mai Mala Buni, the SNELEI intervention is aimed at assisting Nigeria’s long-term recovery from the 2022 flood disaster, and the drive for the country’s sustainable socioeconomic recovery from the current challenges of fuel subsidy removal and high inflation is timely.
Agricultural and household items were distributed to the flood victims, noting that the SNELEI is a relief package containing food items and livelihood support materials, including improved seeds and stools, which would go a long way in closing the gaps created by subsidy removal, thereby boosting the income of households affected by the 2022 flood disaster.
The Governor praised the Federal Government’s efforts through NEMA in developing the initiative to assist victims of the Yobe State flood tragedy in 2022 by distributing palliatives to them.
According to him, “The Phase 1 SNELEI intervention, which I am about to flag off today, targets over 9000 beneficiaries out of the 24,640 registered victims.”
He explained, “The beneficiaries who cut across all the 17 local government areas were carefully identified by the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) as those who would benefit from this package”.
The governor urged all beneficiaries of the palliatives to appreciate and reciprocate the kind gesture by putting the items to proper use and avoiding reselling them.
Earlier, Ahmed Mustapha Habib, Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), stated that the federal government approved the intervention to assist vulnerable persons across the country and those affected by the flood to support their quick return to normalcy.
The DG, who was represented by a senior official from the agency, Hajiya Bintu Awana Aliyu, revealed that a total of 66,884 households throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were vetted and targeted to benefit from the special intervention.
He asked Yobe State recipients to make effective use of the items provided in order to improve their socioeconomic conditions.
Some of the recipients of the palliatives praised the Federal Government and the Yobe State Government for their generosity, adding that the products will help them compensate for what they lost in the disaster.
They also expressed hope that they would be able to resume their lives after losing their sources of income in the calamity.
