Engr. Habib Mustapha Ahmed, the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has clarified that the agency has not received a $1 million donation from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to aid Nigerian flood victims in 2022.
The announcement of this donation was made by the US Embassy, conveyed by US Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard in October 2022.
During a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, journalists inquired about the status of the fund. Engr. Habib Mustapha Ahmed stated that it had been over 10 months since the announcement was made, yet the agency had not received the donation.
The US had attributed the need for this assistance to unusually heavy rainfall that caused flooding, affecting nearly 2.8 million people across the country.
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Many homes were damaged or destroyed, resulting in the displacement of millions of individuals. The $1 million USAID support was intended to enable local partners to provide emergency shelter assistance, relief items, hygiene kits to promote health and safety practices in the face of a cholera outbreak, and multipurpose cash assistance to those affected by the devastating floods.
Despite these announcements, Engr. Ahmed asserted, “I also read about the story in the papers last year, but I can confirm that we have not received any $1 million from USAID.”
In the midst of this, Dr. Dauda Lawal, the Governor of Zamfara State, visited NEMA’s headquarters on Friday, seeking humanitarian assistance to address the needs of victims of banditry in the state. He expressed concern about the high number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) resulting from banditry issues.
Engr. Ahmed, in response, assured the governor that NEMA was fully prepared to assist in addressing the humanitarian challenges arising from bandit and terrorist attacks. He stated, “First, I commend the governor for appreciating NEMA’s interventions, and I assure you that Zamfara will receive all the assistance it requires, just like any other state in the federation.”
