Niger State budgets N7bn for honorarium, sitting allowance, N3bn for erosion, flood control
By Aminu Abubakar
A SolaceBase review of budget performance documents has shown that the Niger State government earmarked N7 billion for honorarium and sitting allowance in the 2024 fiscal year while budgeting only N3. 2 billion for flood and erosion control.
Honorarium are form of gifts or appreciative gestures which are not compulsory or legally binding, while sitting allowances are usually paid to lawmakers or committees of government.
Giving priority to sitting allowance or erosion and flooding control comes at a time when flooding threatens the lives, businesses and properties of different residents in the state
Some days before this report, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, paid a visit to persons displaced due to flooding in Niger state.
A total of 46,000 farmers have been displaced due to flooding and insecurity in Niger state.
In April this year, the Niger state government alerted its residents about the possibility of flooding.
The flood migration report published by the United Nations shows that there are a total of 16,559 flood-affected populations in Niger state, with 1385 displaced persons.
It was also noted that 19,147 farmlands are affected with 2, 631 houses partially damaged.
In this regard, a total of 1,887 persons were affected by flooding in Agaie local government, 928 persons were affected in Mokwa, the figure at Katcha stood at 627, that of Bida is 750, Borgu stands at 301, Gbako 237, the number stands at 140 in Suleja based on data from the United Nations.
Data from the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), shows that 30,000 persons have been affected by the 2024 flooding in Niger state, it was stated that five deaths have been recorded in the state.
Similarly 28,000 persons have been said to be displaced in Niger state due to 2024 flooding. 9000 hectares of land have also been affected by the 2024 flooding in the state.
NEMA had also revealed that in 2022, flooding killed 662 persons and displaced 2,430,445 others.
Between September 2023 and February 2024, Niger state received N827 million ecological funds.
Comments are closed.