Nigeria Faces Humanitarian Crisis With Over 3m Displaced

The Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty reduction, Mr Tanko Sununu has warned that the country is facing a worsening humanitarian emergency, with more than three million people displaced by floods, conflict and other disasters.

Speaking during the inauguration of the House of Representatives Adhoc committee on flood management and response in Abuja, Mr Sununu noted that dwindling global aid is also compounding the crisis and pushing more families toward hunger.

He cited the World Food Programme’s suspension of operations that had reached 1.2 million people in the northeast, warning that 300,000 children are now at risk of malnutrition.

According to the United Nations, 24.8 million Nigerians have experienced some form of hunger.

“Poverty is most widespread in the north, where small holder farmers, many of them among the 65% of Nigeria’s poor have lost farmland to droughts and floods.

To mitigate the crisis, the federal government is strengthening interventions through the National Social Investment Programme, NSIP.

The minister also disclosed that under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, GEEP, smallholder farmers have received interest-free loans of ₦300,000 each to help them recover from losses.

He also revealed that more than 5.9
millions of houses hold approximately 25 million. Nigerians have benefited from ₦419 billion in conditional cash transfers.

According to him, the funds are meant to cushion the impact of economic hardship and sustain vulnerable families.

“These efforts are part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerians maintain dignity of life despite economic challenges,” the minister said. “With the support of the House of Representatives, we will continue to work to protect vulnerable households and restore livelihoods.”

The minister commended the National Assembly for setting up a dedicated committee to oversee humanitarian interventions.

He expressed optimism that the move would strengthen transparency and improve the delivery of aid to affected communities.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji