•Oborevwori urges residents in flood prone areas to relocate
From Okwe Obi, Uwubiti Efemena, Abuja and Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said there was no standing budget to assist those that would be affected by flooding that would result from the opening of Lagdo Dam.
The Cameroonian government has alerted Nigeria that the dam would be released for excess water to run out. Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states are likely to be flooded.
Data from the agency showed that the 2022 floods arising from release of water from the dam displaced no fewer than 1.4 million people, killed over 603 people, injured more than 2,400 others, damaged 82,035 houses and blighted 332,327 hectares of land.
Nigeria’s immediate past minister of humanitarian affairs, Sadiya Farouq, blamed the scale of the disaster on the failure by branches of government to take action.
“There was enough warning and information about the 2022 flood, but states, local governments and communities appear not to take heed,” the minister wrote on Twitter in apparent exoneration of the Federal Government.
NEMA’s Director General Mustapha Habib Ahmed, at a national emergency coordination forum in Abuja, yesterday, said the level of disaster would determine what would be budgeted to assist victims. He said the states located downstream must begin to take concerted effort to address and mitigate the impact of the impending flooding.
Ahmed, however, said the impact of the disaster would not be too grievous because of the preparedness of most states with regards to clearing of drainage, clearing of water channels, de-silting of rivers and the provision of temporary shelters to support the states.
He said: “We do not have any standing budget for this project yet. As we are all aware, Lagdo Dam was opened and closed. The extent of the damage will not immediately be known. It is after the flood season, we can do the assessment and we will know what is damaged and what the damage will be. Activating IDP camps is the responsibility of the states. We have advised them accordingly.
“As you are aware we met with the Governors’ Forum, we gave them all the advice that needed to be given and all the states have been proactive. So, we will probably see a lot of difference this time around. Clearing of drainage, clearing of water channels, de-silting the rivers. We are providing temporary shelters to support the states. But those states have to provide the IDP camps.”
Director General of Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NISHA), Clement Nze, explained that the Cameroonian authorities commenced release of water from Lagdo Dam by 10.10 a.m on August 14.
“The water level at our monitoring station in Makurdi, Benue State was 8.99m as against 9.75m that was recorded on the same date in 2022.
“This indicated a reduction in the observed flow of last week and normal flow In the flow of River Benue system. The flow level on the River Niger system Is considerably stable as well. The level of River Niger at Niamey (Niger Republic), upstream Nigeria, is normal with a flow level of 4.35m.
“Situation reports from the Inland dams (Kainji and Jebba) on River Niger and Shiroro on River Kaduna indicated a normal flow regime. The present reservoir level at Kainji dam to 134. 64m (maximum reservoir level is 141 83m). This shows that there is room to impound waters into the reservoir from the upstream as the inflow increases on the River Niger system. The flow level at our monitoring station downstream of the confluence of the two transboundary rivers (Niger and Benue) in Lokoja, Kogi State, was 8.66m as against 8.36m that was recorded on the same date in 2022. Though still within the normal range, the increase in flow level is due to the internal runoff that were generated from the inland rivers due to their increased flow levels occasioned by their catchment rainfall patterns.” Reacting, Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori called on residents in low land and flood prone areas to relocate to higher planes.
In a statement, he said the state government was concerned about the lives and property of citizens living in flood-prone areas.
The statement said Governor Oborevwori has approved the setting up of a 14-man Flood Disaster Management Committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kingsley Emu, to mitigate the challenges expected by the impending flood.
He said the committee is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out aggressive sensitisation of citizens on the impending flood and to propose appropriate measures for the prevention and management of flooding, addressing the displacement of people and to suggest ways for the provision of relief materials to victims.