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2022 Flood Caused N4.2tn Economic Loss, Says FG

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The 2022 floods in various parts of Nigeria led to an estimated economic loss of $9.12bn (N4.2tn as at Friday’s official exchange rate of N460.78/$), the Federal Government announced on Friday.

It said this was revealed after a post-disaster assessment on the 2022 flooding, as the report on this was released in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

Presenting the report, the humanitarian minister, Sadiya Farouq, said the objective of the Global Rapid Damage Estimation Note, developed by the World Bank’s Disaster-Resilience Analytics and Solutions team, was to assess the economic impact of the June – November 2022 floods across the country.

READ ALSO: Floods: Group Drags Buhari To Court Over ‘Missing Ecological Funds’

She said the GRADE assessment gave an overview of the nature of the flood disaster and its impact across Nigeria as well as sectoral and state-by-state effects critical for planning.

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On some of the key findings of the flood assessment, the report stated that all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were affected by the 2022 flood in Nigeria with varying degrees of damages and people affected.

It read in part, “This analysis estimates that the total direct economic damages, based on currently reported statistics as of November 25, 2022, are in the range of $3.79bn to $9.12bn, with the best (median) estimate at $6.68bn.

“This includes damages to residential and non-residential buildings (including building contents), as well as damages to infrastructure, productive sectors and to cropland.”

Farouq explained that the number of persons affected rose above 4.9 million as of November 25, 2022, with significant damage to infrastructure, including roads, irrigation and river, as well as electricity projects, with around $1.23bn ($0.959 – $1.724bn) in damage expected.

Farouq further explained that the GRADE Note was a fast first-order approximation of the economic impact, and provided a rapid high-level estimate of damages used to inform ongoing decisions in a timely fashion.

“It was developed using the empirical data defined in this document, calibrated against historical data and experience, including the 2012 Nigeria Floods (Post-Disaster Needs Assessment). The period of analysis is from June 2022 to November, 25, 2022,” the minister stated.

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She called on the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to utilise the GRADE assessment to plan the recovery and rehabilitation of victims of the flood.

READ ALSO: Flood Disaster: CDHR Threatens To Drag FG To ICJ Over Negligence

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, said the ministry and the National Emergency Management Agency jointly sought a preliminary and quantitative spatial damage assessment, which was considered to be faster than a traditional Post Disaster Needs Assessment and fairly accurate, with technical support from the World Bank Group.

He said, “The GRADE approach was with the collaboration of many stakeholders including NIMET, NARSDA, NIHSA, NSCDC, and the GRADE assessment was conducted between November 14 to 28, 2022, after the flood water had receded in most parts in the country from June to November 2022.

“The World Bank delivered the Grade report on time in November 2022 and the ministry through NEMA has started implementing some of the findings of the report.”

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JUST IN: Secondus, Sekibo, Others Declare Support For Tinubu, Fubara

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A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus; and members of the Presidential Campaign Council of the party for the 2023 general elections in Rivers State have declared loyalty and support for President Bola Tinubu and the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

A former Minister of Transportation and the Director-General, PDP-PCC Rivers State, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, made the declaration during a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Nigerian Lady Set To Drive From London To Lagos

Present at the briefing were Secondus; former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Austin Opara; Celestine Omehia, former deputy governor of the state, Tele Ikuru; Senator Lee Maeba; and former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr. Gabriel Pidomson. among others.

The council supported the PDP presidential candidate in 2023, Atiku Abubakar, in the last elections.

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INEC To Publish Edo Gov Candidates’ Credentials Saturday

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Ahead of the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said it would publish the particulars of 17 governorship candidates and their running mates on March 30, 2024.

The personal particulars of the candidates would be published by displaying copies of Form EC9 along with all academic credentials and other documents submitted by each candidate at the state headquarters and the 18 local government offices across Edo State.

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed this on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: [JUST IN] Okuama Killings: Army Declares Eight Persons Wanted [FULL LIST]

Olumekun said, “Following the conclusion of party primaries, 17 political parties have uploaded their candidates’ nomination forms for the Edo State Governorship Election by the deadline of 6 pm on 24th March 2024 when the dedicated portal automatically shut down.

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“The personal particulars of the governorship candidates and their running mates will be published on Saturday 30th March 2024, a week from the last date for the submission of nominations as provided in Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“The commission shall publish the personal particulars by displaying copies of Form EC9 along with all academic credentials and other documents submitted by each candidate at the state headquarters and the 18 local government offices across Edo State.”

READ ALSO: Man Slumps, Dies During Fight In Kwara

The commission appealed to Nigerians to scrutinise the document (particulars of the candidates) when published.

“We appeal to Nigerians to scrutinise the documents. Any aspirant who participated in his/her party primaries with reasonable grounds to believe that the information provided by the candidate is false can challenge the nomination in a Federal High Court as provided in Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022,” the National Commissioner said.

The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had last week expressed the frustration of the electoral body over the rancorous primary elections in various political parties ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

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Yakubu, who spoke in Abuja at the first regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties, said INEC found the infighting within political parties disruptive of its activities, adding that INEC also wastes funds to defend litigation arising from controversial primaries.

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Commission Probes 400 Cases Of Privacy Breach In Online Loan Apps

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The Nigeria Data Protection Commission has said it is investigating over 400 cases of privacy breaches involving online loan apps.

Cases of data privacy breaches have become prevalent in recent times due to the proliferation of digital lending platforms.

The commission made this known in its 2023 Annual Report made available to The PUNCH on Thursday.

It noted that its ongoing investigations have revealed that “loan apps are overly intrusive.”

NDPC is also seeking a ban or restriction on mobile numbers found to have been used by lenders to breach the privacy of their customers.

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READ ALSO: How 15,000 Ethiopian Bank’s Customers Returned Cash Illegally Withdrawn During Glitch

“They generally violate the principles of Data Protection and Privacy because they have access to contacts, pictures, messages, etc. of data subjects,” the commission stated.

This indicated that despite an April 2023 policy introduced by Google banning loan apps from accessing photos and contacts of users, the practice has continued.

Acknowledging that privacy breaches by loan apps are a systemic problem, the commission said it is also adopting a systemic solution by working with other regulators and third-party platforms being used by the lenders.

A user of a loan app, Haruna Michael, who spoke to The PUNCH on Thursday, said that one of the digital lenders used his photos and tagged him as a fleeing criminal because he defaulted in paying the loan he received within the stipulated time.

READ ALSO: Nine Things To Know About Ship That Collapsed Baltimore Bridge

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He said his contacts were reached and he was reported as a fraudster.

“Over 400 cases of privacy breaches involving shadowy loan sharks are being addressed at the systemic level.

“The commission has now drafted the Nigeria Data Protection Act-General Application and Implementation Directive which addresses the abetment of data breaches, the need for data ethics and privacy by design and by default among others.

“Under abetment, the third-party platforms through which data privacy breaches take place will now be required to deny access to those who use their platforms for privacy breaches.

READ ALSO: Man Slumps, Dies During Fight In Kwara

“Organisations, particularly communication networks should be willing to restrict or ban telephone lines that are implicated in privacy violations,” the commission said.

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The NDPC added that it is also collaborating with regulators under the Joint Enforcement and Regulatory Taskforce to sanitise the digital lending space.

It noted that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission now requires lending companies to obtain data protection clearance from NDPC before operation.

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