The Federal Government of Nigeria has kicked off a $500 million fundraising campaign to bolster the nation’s resilience against perennial flooding through a new programme titled the Global Flood Disaster Management Project (GFDMP).
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Mr. Olusegun Dada, Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, who described the initiative as a flagship project of the Renewed Hope Agenda aimed at ending Nigeria’s cycle of responding to floods only after they occur.
“The GFDMP marks a fundamental policy shift from emergency reaction to strategic, forward-looking flood risk management,” Dada stated.
The multi-year programme rests on four strategic pillars:
1. Advanced Early Warning Systems – Upgrading meteorological and hydrological forecasting capabilities and rolling out real-time digital alert platforms to give communities and authorities adequate lead time.
2. Flood-Resilient Infrastructure – Major investments in upgraded drainage systems, flood barriers, retention basins, and possibly new reservoirs in high-risk areas.
3. Institutional Capacity Building – Strengthening agencies responsible for disaster preparedness, coordination, and rapid response.
4. Community-Led Resilience – Deepening grassroots participation, delivering climate-smart agricultural advisory services to farmers, and prioritising support for the most vulnerable populations.
The fundraising effort is being coordinated by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in partnership with other federal ministries, state governments, private-sector organisations, and international development partners.
A public-awareness and partnership drive dubbed the “Stay Afloat Initiative” has also been launched to mobilise citizens and corporate entities toward sustainable flood-mitigation projects in at-risk communities.
Recurrent flooding in Nigeria has in recent years displaced hundreds of thousands of citizens, destroyed farmlands, and inflicted billions of naira in economic damage, making comprehensive, long-term flood management an urgent national priority.
The government says the $500 million target, when met, will fund projects across the country’s major river basins and urban centres over the coming years, significantly reducing the human and financial toll of seasonal floods.