CDHR asks FG to probe ecological fund disbursement, compensate flood victims

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has asked the federal government to compensate victims of flooding in the country.

CDHR said this in a communiqué issued at the end of its annual general meeting, which was held on Monday, in Lagos.

Recently, parts of the country have been hit by flooding which has led to the destruction of properties and displacement of millions of persons.

The floods have affected 34 out of the 36 states in the country, with Jigawa, Benue, Kogi, Bayelsa, Delta, Anambra, and Kano being among the worst hit.

Reacting to the development, the human rights group asked President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the management of the ecological fund.

“CDHR demands proactive steps in the combat of flooding and the realisation of the goals for which the ecological fund was set up,” the communique reads.

“The CDHR demands a thorough audit of the fund to bring to book all those who may have partaken in the looting of the funds since it was established.

“To CDHR, the calamity that befalls numerous communities in different parts of the country on account of the recent flooding, is directly traceable to negligence on the part of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“CDHR therefore demands that immediate equitable compensation be paid to all the families who lost their loved ones, their homes and means of livelihood.

“It is the hope of the CDHR that the Federal Government of Nigeria would heed this call and save itself from the rigours of litigation.”

The ecological fund office, which is under the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF), was created in 1985 following the approval of the Federation Account Act of 1981.

On workers’ welfare, CDHR condemned the treatment of senior citizens in the country as it relates to payment of pensions and gratuities.

The group also criticised some state governments that have not implemented the new minimum wage.

“CDHR condemns the penchance and refusal by various governments at all levels in Nigeria to pay lump-sum gratuities to pensioners, in some instances for as long as 20 years after retirement. This treatment of senior citizens who are 80 years and above, is not only callous, but is crime against humanity,” the group said.

“CDHR AGC also condemns in very strong terms, the continuing non-payment of the minimum wage in various States of the Federation contrary to the Minimum Wage Act, especially in the face of the worst inflationary rates ever witnessed in Nigeria.”