Abuja - Nigeria — The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, on Monday, 25th October 2010 in Abuja presented a cheque of 291,000 US dollars to the Government of Nigeria in support of victims of the recent floods in the country which have displaced over two million persons and caused substantial damages to farmland and other property.
The cheque which was received on behalf of the Nigerian Government by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Salamatu Suleiman, follows an earlier donation by the Commission, in collaboration with the Red Cross, in mid-July 2010 of various items valued at 100,000 US dollars to victims of the Jos crisis in central Nigeria which claimed over 500 lives and displaced some 5,000 persons. At the brief presentation ceremony, Ambassador Gbeho described the amount as symbolic, explaining: "We realize that the needs of the state to cater for the victims of this catastrophe go beyond what we are offering you; but this is a way the ECOWAS Commission shows its support and assistance to the affected population at the point of their need". He further explained that the ECOWAS Commission had begun to demonstrate, by providing assistance "which goes directly to touch the lives of the affected population during times of crisis", that the ECOWAS Vision 2020 of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of peoples, was no mere slogan. "
The ECOWAS Commission is developing durable strategies and solutions to respond to catastrophes in Member States, thereby moving away from an ad hoc response to a more coordinated approach that will guarantee effective response to victims of crises and disasters in Member States", said the President of the Commission. He stated that ECOWAS is assisting Member States to establish and identify national platforms and focal institutions on emergency management and response in Member States and to strengthen existing ones. According to him, these platforms would be equipped to enhance their capacity to respond to crisis and emergencies, either by themselves or in collaboration with other Member States and international organizations.
In addition, he said the ECOWAS Commission is in the process of developing a humanitarian policy and response mechanism to guarantee comprehensive and efficient regional approach to emergency management and response. The President who referred to the ECOWAS Humanitarian Depot in Bamako, Mali, said when completed, the depot would complement other efforts to facilitate prompt delivery of relief materials to victims of humanitarian emergencies in the region. While lauding the efforts of the Nigerian Government, Ambassador Gbeho urged NEMA to synergize with other agencies in the region to assist in building capacities of other emergency agencies with less capacity to deal with emergency situations. Responding, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaja Sulaiman, expressed appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission for "this laudable humanitarian gesture", stating that that "these are very hard and trying times for Nigeria".
The Minister assured that the donation would be judiciously used to assist families and communities affected by the floods. In attendance at the presentation ceremony were the Under Secretary in charge of Africa in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Ambassador Adamu Abbas, the Director of the ECOWAS Division, Mr. Babatunde Nurudeen and some top officials of the Ministry as well as the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Muhammed Sani Sidi and some officials of the agency.
Others included the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Diop, the ECOWAS Director for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Daniel Eklu, the Acting Director of Communication, Mr. Sunny Ugoh, among other ECOWAS officials.
