The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has issued a strong call to action, urging governments at all levels and residents of flood-prone areas to take immediate and coordinated steps in anticipation of the projected 2025 seasonal floods.
The appeal follows a warning from the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), which identified 1,249 communities across 176 local government areas in 30 states—including 16 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory—as being at high risk of severe flooding this year.
In a statement signed by the ACF National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba, the group expressed serious concern over the potential humanitarian and economic fallout should the floods occur as forecast.
“Communities without adequate preparations typically experience deaths, destruction of farmlands, property damage, disruptions to livelihoods, and food shortages. For 2025, the floods could not come at a worse time, given the dire economic and other existential constraints that citizens have been living with,” the forum stated.
While acknowledging the Federal Government’s initiation of public sensitisation efforts, the ACF criticised the limited visibility of such campaigns in many vulnerable areas, noting that the rainy season has already begun in parts of the country.
The forum called for stronger coordination between federal, state, and local governments to enhance flood awareness and disaster preparedness. It also urged emergency and relief agencies to pre-position essential supplies—such as food, clean water, medicine, and emergency kits—in high-risk zones.
The statement emphasized the urgent need to rehabilitate critical infrastructure including roads, bridges, hospitals, markets, and schools ahead of any potential flooding.
The ACF further stressed the importance of enforcing urban planning and environmental regulations, warning that “incompetence, misconduct, dereliction of duty, quackery, and corruption must not go unpunished.”
The forum also called on citizens to take personal responsibility by maintaining proper sanitation, keeping drainage systems clear, and refraining from indiscriminate waste disposal.
Reaffirming its commitment, the ACF pledged continued support for all efforts aimed at safeguarding lives and property from the anticipated floods.
