By Obiabin Onukwugha
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria has asked the federal government and relevant agencies to declare an emergency on flooding and treat it as a state and national security priority.
Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene made the call while reacting to the NiHSA 2026 Annual Flood Outlook, which predicted that 14,118 communities across 33 states are at high flood risk this year.
Dr. Fyneface who spoke at a Live radio program monitored by NatureNews in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, stated that the warning by the NIHSA is beyond mere flood water.
According to him, the early warning was aimed at preventing flooding which threatens the existence of people, especially of the state and Niger Delta region.
Dr. Fyneface warned that environmental neglect in Nigeria has crossed the line from inconvenience to national security threat, judging from previous floodings.
He said previous floodings have led to lost of lives and livelihoods, impacted on health systems, fueled communal crisis, and destroyed critical national assets.
“The bottom line for our country, Nigeria in 2026 is that environmental neglect is already a national security threat in the Niger Delta and floodplains. We crossed that line when annual floods became a budget item, not an anomaly, when youths trade fishing nets for illegal refineries because creeks are polluted and farms are inundated,” Fyneface stated.
He regretted that despite early warnings from NiHSA, drainages remain blocked as the government at all levels fail to take decisive steps to implement and mitigate flood impacts on the people.
He also called on the Rivers State government to hold an emergency critical stakeholders conference on the 2026 flooding using the data from NiHSA and as well, declare emergency on flooding to fast-track preparations ahead of July.
He further called on the Rivers state government to fund and implement community-based flood early warning systems, using the NiHSA report to sensitize communities.
“Establish a Rivers State Emergency Management Agency (RISEMA) through an Executive Bill to the State Assembly with at least 1% of the state’s monthly federal allocation to fund its activities,” he said.
