NEMA gives food, machines to 653 flood-hit households in Kebbi
- NEMA has handed food, bedding and work equipment to 653 households hit by the 2025 floods in Kebbi State.
- The agency said the floods killed 241 people nationwide and displaced more than 158,000.
- Female-headed homes and people with disabilities were prioritised in the Birnin Kebbi distribution.
Six hundred and fifty-three households in Kebbi State that lost homes or livelihoods to the 2025 floods have received food, bedding and equipment from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The items were shared in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday under the Federal Government's Presidential Post-Flood Intervention programme, the agency said.
NEMA Director-General Zubaida Umar, who was represented by the director of relief and rehabilitation, Abbani Garki, gave the figures for last year's disaster nationwide. The floods touched 128 local government areas, killed 241 people, affected 459,995 people and pushed 158,588 from their homes, she said.
Farmland was also lost, along with small businesses and public infrastructure. Umar put the destroyed farmland at 96,649, though the two reports on the event described the measure differently, with one saying hectares and the other simply farmlands.
What each household gets
The package for the 653 households includes 500 bags of 25kg rice, 500 cartons of spaghetti and 250 cartons of vegetable oil. There are also 500 foam mattresses, 250 nylon mats and 250 blankets.
Beyond the immediate relief, the items include tools meant to help families earn again: 83 grinding machines, 55 sewing machines and 15 cargo tricycles.
Umar said priority went to households headed by women and to people living with disabilities. She said the relief was only a first step and that families would still need help to rebuild.
She asked community leaders and beneficiaries to cooperate with officials so the exercise runs smoothly. NEMA said it is working with the Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), local government authorities and security agencies to keep the distribution transparent and fair.
Governor Nasir Idris, represented by the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Sani Aliyu, thanked NEMA for standing with the state. He urged beneficiaries to make judicious use of the items, especially the livelihood and skills equipment, to improve their families' welfare.
SEMA chairman Kabiru Bako also welcomed the intervention, saying it would ease hardship for the affected families.
What happens next
Umar said the Federal Government remains committed to helping affected communities rebuild their livelihoods and better withstand future disasters. She called for joint efforts by federal and state governments, local authorities, civil society and citizens to improve disaster preparedness and response.
For the households in Birnin Kebbi, the immediate test is whether the equipment translates into income. The grinding machines and sewing machines are meant to help families earn again after the floods washed away their means of living.
