Nigeria’s vice president, Kashim Shettima has said that every naira spent on preparedness for disasters like floods is an investment made in the lives of Nigerians.
Shettima while speaking at the 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) in Abuja on Monday said the Federal Government is focused on empowering communities to manage residents’ safety during flood and other humanitarian crises.
He said the government at the federal level will strengthen states’ and local governments’ emergency management agencies through training and providing technologies needed to address such challenges.
In a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, his media aide, the vice president said no amount of preparedness will produce tangible results if communities are not empowered to take charge of their safety.
Shettima noted that while resiliency is critical to handling these crises, it cannot always be guaranteed.
He also called for stronger collaboration between the private sector and the government at different levels in the prevention, embedding of risk reduction into corporate planning and investment decisions.
“We count on them to shape the knowledge that guides our decisions. And we expect our civil society to hold us accountable, to raise awareness, and to mobilise citizens around the shared responsibility of preparedness.
“But none of these efforts will yield results unless we empower and support our communities to take ownership of their safety. They are the foundation of whatever strategy we adopt and the heartbeat of our national resilience.”
“Every naira we spend today on preparedness saves many more tomorrow on response and recovery. Every investment in resilience is, in truth, an investment in the lives and futures of our people,” Shettima added.
In addition, the vice president urged all partners to ensure that words are matched with actions while policies are met with the funds needed to address these issues.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Tanko Sununu affirmed that Nigeria like every other nation has faced its own share of natural and man-made disasters.
Sununu said the meeting was scheduled to help draft plans that could aid in the development of a comprehensive approach towards addressing these disasters.
He also highlighted the need to diversify Nigeria’s funding sources while reviewing the nation’s strategic framework to improve the effort towards reaching citizens in underserved communities.