Flood: UAE Donates 50 Tonnes Of Relief Materials To Nigeria

By Akinwale Kasali

As part of its kind gesture and humanitarian services, the United Arab Emirates’ Government has donated 50 Tonnes of Relief Materials to the Nigerian Government for flood victims.

This was received on Sunday by the Federal Government.

The aid is to support Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs,  affected by the flood in parts of the country.

It was gathered from the News Agency of Nigeria’s reports that the relief items arrived the Cargo wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 2.40pm.

UAE, Ambassador, Salem Alshamsi, presented the relief items to the Nigerian Government.

Alshamsi said that the donation was in line with the UAE’s gesture to support countries affected by natural disasters.

The donation, he said, was made at the directive of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed Al Nahyan, to cushion the effect of the hardship caused by the floods.

“This urgent humanitarian aid of 50 tonnes of basic supplies has been provided to our friendly people of Nigeria, to support areas affected by the recent floods.

“The UAE, as usual, is always helping nations affected by natural disasters. So we are happy to be here,” Alshamsi said.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Ahmed Dunoma, who received the items, commended the Government and people of UAE for supporting Nigeria at this crucial time.

Dunoma described the donation as unprecedented, adding that it showed the kind of excellent relationship Nigeria had with the UAE.

“We want to seize this opportunity on behalf of Mr President to convey the appreciation of the Nigerian government and her people, to the President and the people of UAE.

“We believe that this will go a long way in ameliorating the sufferings of the people affected by this recent flood,” he said.

He said that the items would be distributed to Nigerians affected by the floods.

Zubaida Umar, Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said that the relief materials would immediately be distributed to Borno and other states affected by the flood, once cleared.

“This does not only symbolise our partnership but also support at this dire time when so many areas of Nigeria have been flooded.

“It could not have come at a better time.

“I want to assure Nigerians that once we take custody of these items, they will be shared accordingly with those affected by the flood. That is an assurance.

“This will not only stop in Maiduguri. As of yesterday, parts of Enugu State were also being flooded. So we are going to target all areas, even Kaduna was slightly flooded two days ago.

“So we are going to target the whole country. I am sure that is what the government of UAE also wants us to do,” she said.

According to NEMA, 29 states and 172 local government areas have been hit by flooding, affecting 1,048,312 people, displacing 625,239, and resulting in 259 deaths between April to September 2024.