By Salif Atojoko

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Thursday said a Disaster Relief Fund would be established to be headed by a top private sector operative.

Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the economy, said this while addressing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting on Monday.

He said the Disaster Relief Fund would be a best-in-class fund that would be corporate governance-driven, and headed by a top private sector executive.

“It will build for Nigeria a resilient response that is adequate in size, scale, quality and be able to respond in such occurrences as we have had in Borno and elsewhere before.

“This will focus on financing and bring together funding from across the federal, sub-national, the local levels, the private sector, and even international philanthropic organisations,” said the minister.

Edun said President Bola Tinubu directed that a disaster relief fund should be established to enable the country build greater resilience in the form of a substantial disaster relief fund.

He said that the relief fund would be separate from the agencies that intervene physically.

According to the minister, this fund will be different from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Relief Fund established in 1999, and the Flood Relief Fund set up in 2012.

He said the President believed that the fund had become expedient in the era of climate change, as well as the fact that there would be disasters, no matter the prevention measures put in place.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Tinubu announced the creation of the Disaster Relief Fund on Sept. 16.

He made the announcement during a visit to Maiduguri, Borno, to commiserate with victims of flooding in the state, saying that the fund would assist Nigerian citizens impacted by floods and other disasters. 

The President said the Federal Government would collaborate with the private sector to establish the fund. (NAN) 

Edited by Christiana Fadare