The Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency have launched a comprehensive 2026 National Preparedness and Response Campaign on Flood Disaster and Related Hazards, warning that several parts of Sokoto remain highly vulnerable as the rainy season intensifies.

The campaign was unveiled during a stakeholders’ engagement on imminent flooding and early warning dissemination at the Sultan Maccido Institute for Qur’anic and General Studies Auditorium in Sokoto. The forum brought together government officials, traditional and religious leaders, security agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and the media to strengthen coordination ahead of potential floods.

Executive Secretary of Sokoto SEMA, Prof Abubakar Junaidu, speaking on behalf of the Special Adviser overseeing the agency, Aminu Bodinga, said the state could no longer afford a reactive approach to disasters. He recalled that repeated flooding in recent years had destroyed homes, farmlands, roads and other socio-economic assets, deepening the vulnerability of already fragile communities.

Junaidu cited forecasts from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which project significant rainfall and possible flooding in parts of the country, including Sokoto. He stressed that effective disaster management hinges on getting early warning information to at-risk communities quickly and in languages and formats they understand.

He urged local government councils, traditional institutions, religious leaders, community-based organisations and the media to intensify grassroots awareness on flood risks, safe settlement patterns, proper waste disposal and the need to heed evacuation advisories.

Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, represented by the Head of Operations at the NEMA Sokoto Office, Tukur Abubakar, disclosed that 132 local government areas nationwide have been classified as high flood-risk zones, with another 148 LGAs in 14 states placed in the moderate-risk category.

She noted that Sokoto remains a priority state, listing Goronyo, Gudu, Kebbe, Kware, Sabon Birni, Silame, Sokoto North and Wamakko LGAs as particularly exposed. The July-to-September period, she warned, is the most critical phase of the rainy season, with a real possibility of overflow from the River Rima threatening riverside communities, farmlands and key infrastructure.

Umar explained that NEMA’s 2026 Climate-Related Risk Management, Preparedness and Mitigation Framework was developed after reviewing NiMet and NIHSA forecasts. The framework emphasises building local response capacity, conducting simulation drills, enforcing flood advisories, pre-positioning relief materials, assessing vulnerable infrastructure and preparing community evacuation plans.

She called for a whole-of-society approach, insisting that flood preparedness cannot be left to government agencies alone, and urging traditional rulers, religious bodies, women and youth groups, the media and the private sector to actively support early warning and risk-reduction efforts.