The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the release of ₦83.2 billion from the Anticipatory Action Trust Fund to combat flooding across Nigeria a shift from reactive disaster response to proactive prevention.
The approval was granted at a NEC meeting held on Thursday, June 18, 2026, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.
Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu, who spoke to State House correspondents after the meeting, revealed that the fund was originally proposed at over ₦166 billion before the council settled on the ₦83.2 billion figure.
The Anticipatory Action Trust Fund is designed to finance early warning systems, emergency preparedness measures and other flood mitigation initiatives ahead of disaster, rather than in response to it.
NEC stressed that it could no longer be viewed as a body that only swings into action after calamity strikes. The council said it must be seen as an institution that moves early to reduce the impact of emergencies.
The approval comes against the backdrop of recurring seasonal flooding that has displaced communities, destroyed farmlands and damaged public infrastructure across multiple states.
Addressing the meeting, Shettima said the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration must now produce tangible results felt by ordinary Nigerians — particularly farmers, manufacturers, youths and vulnerable citizens.
“A workshop is judged by one thing. Not by the plans pinned to its walls, but by what comes off the bench,” he said.
The Vice President described Nigeria as a federation transitioning from stabilisation to production and from aspiration to concrete implementation. He said the country’s economic transformation hinged on building a full value chain — from farms to factories, and from ports to global markets.
Shettima also took aim at Nigeria’s dependence on raw material exports, warning that the country cannot continue to ship unprocessed goods abroad while importing finished products.
“A nation that cannot move its goods has imprisoned its own farmers,” he said, adding that meeting international export standards was essential to unlocking the full value of Nigerian agricultural and industrial output.
The council equally reaffirmed its commitment to social protection, urging that vulnerable Nigerians must not be left behind as reforms continue across different sectors of the economy.
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