A file photo of President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan of action for the prevention of flood disaster in Nigeria.

The President’s directive was conveyed to the minister in a letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, according to a statement on Monday by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu.

According to the statement, Buhari ordered the minister to coordinate with the ministries of environment and transportation as well as state governments to develop the plan.

A photo shows a church and other buildings submerged along the East-West highway severed by flooding, bringing to a halt the movement of vehicles and economic activities, in Niger delta region of Ahoada, Rivers State, southern Nigeria, on October 21, 2022. – More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to a new toll released on October 20. The disaster had also forced more than 1.3 million from their homes, said a statement by Nigeria’s ministry of humanitarian affairs, released on Twitter. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Shehu also Buhari is “regularly receiving updates on the flooding situation in the country and restates his commitment towards addressing the challenges caused by the disaster in the country”.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said about 2.5 million persons have been affected so far and over 603 persons killed by the flooding caused by torrential rainfall in over 20 states across Nigeria.

Thousands of houses have been submerged by floods and unnumbered farmlands washed away in Nigeria’s devastating floods which have attracted international sympathies from the King Charles III of the United Kingdom and the United Nations.