The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Comrade Chinedu N. Ogah, OON, has moved a motion of urgent public importance seeking immediate federal government intervention over the devastating flood disaster that reportedly claimed lives and displaced thousands of residents in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Ogah, who presented the motion before the House of Representatives at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, called for urgent humanitarian assistance, ecological intervention and sustainable flood-control measures to alleviate the suffering of affected communities and prevent a recurrence of the disaster.
In the motion, titled “Motion of Urgent Public Importance on the Need to Address the Devastating Flood Disaster That Claimed Lives and Displaced Hundreds in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State,” the lawmaker drew the attention of his colleagues to the scale of destruction caused by torrential rainfall and overflowing rivers in the affected areas.
According to the motion, the flooding, which reportedly began in the early hours of September 23 and continued into October 2026, submerged more than 10 communities in Ikwo and neighbouring areas.
The affected communities include Ndiagu Amagu, Ndufu Amagu, Ekpa-Omaka, Okpotiumo, Igbudu, Inyimagu, Enyibichiri, Alike and Amudo, among other riverine settlements. Idembia in Ezza South was also listed among the affected communities.
Ogah stated that reports attributed to the Ebonyi State Emergency Management Agency (EBSEMA), the State Ministry of Environment and community leaders indicated that the disaster claimed lives, including women and children, destroyed more than 500 houses and submerged over 1,000 hectares of rice, yam and cassava farmlands.
The motion further noted that livestock were lost, while properties worth billions of naira were reportedly destroyed. It also identified 15 schools, shops at the building materials market and numerous farmlands among the facilities and assets affected by the disaster.
The lawmaker expressed concern that more than 2,000 families had been displaced and were taking refuge in primary schools and church premises under difficult conditions, with inadequate access to food, potable water, bedding, medical supplies and other basic necessities.
He warned that the situation had exposed displaced residents to serious public health risks, including cholera, diarrhoea and malaria, while calling for immediate humanitarian assistance to prevent further loss of lives.
Ogah also raised concerns about the vulnerability of Ikwo and other parts of Ebonyi State to flooding, noting that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency's seasonal climate predictions had identified areas including Ikwo, Izzi, Abakaliki and Afikpo as flood-prone locations.
He regretted that the disaster had dealt a severe blow to agricultural production in Ikwo, widely regarded as one of Ebonyi State's major food-producing areas and an important contributor to rice production.
According to him, the destruction of farmlands and agricultural investments could worsen food insecurity, undermine farmers' livelihoods and affect the economic well-being of thousands of households.
To address the emergency, the motion called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the South East Development Commission, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to urgently provide relief materials and support for displaced residents.
The proposed assistance includes food items, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, medicines, clean water, building materials, temporary shelters and emergency agricultural inputs such as seedlings and fertilisers to help affected farmers recover from their losses.
The lawmaker also urged the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ecological Fund Office to release ecological intervention funds for the dredging of the Ebonyi River, construction of embankments and completion of the EIB-NEWMAP drainage project in Ebonyi State.
He further called on the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment of flood-prone communities in Ikwo and develop a permanent flood-control system to protect lives, property and agricultural investments.
As part of the proposed legislative response, Ogah urged the House to mandate its Committees on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Environment, and Water Resources to visit Ikwo for an on-the-spot assessment of the disaster.
The committees are expected, under the motion, to report their findings to the House within two weeks to guide further legislative action and ensure that the needs of affected communities receive appropriate attention.
He also called for the House Committee on Legislative Compliance to monitor the implementation of the resolutions, while proposing a minute of silence in honour of those who lost their lives in the disaster.
The motion, if adopted, would place the National Assembly at the centre of efforts to mobilise federal assistance for affected communities and promote long-term interventions against recurring floods in Ebonyi State.
The proposed measures are aimed not only at providing immediate relief to displaced households but also at protecting the state's agricultural sector, strengthening disaster preparedness and reducing the vulnerability of riverine communities to future flooding.
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