As Nigeria continues to grapple with the aftermath of appalling floods in Maiduguri, Borno Circumstance, and alternative portions of the rustic, the Federal Govt has issued an pressing ultimatum about imminent flood alongside the Niger and Benue rivers.
The Minister of H2O Sources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, issued the alert in Abuja on Friday throughout a press briefing at the flood condition in Maiduguri.
He warned {that a} immense quantity of H2O used to be flowing throughout the rivers all the way down to the Niger Delta area, stressing the desire for heightened vigilance and proactive measures, in particular in southern Nigeria, to mitigate the results of possible flood.
Utsev attributed the flooding crisis in Maiduguri and Jere grounds of Borno Circumstance to the inundation of H2O from Alau Dam, positioned about 10 kilometres from Maiduguri town centre, because of a large influx from Ngadda River, a significant tributary of River Yedzaram.
In keeping with him, the 2024 Annual Overpouring Outlook e-newsletter via the Nigeria Hydrological Services and products Company recognized grand, reasonable, and occasional flood-risk grounds around the nation. Borno, Bauchi, Jigawa, Taraba, Yobe, Benue, Gombe, and a number of other others are some of the 31 states indexed as high-risk grounds.
“This flood disaster that affected Maiduguri and Jere areas was largely due to the overflow of water from Alau Dam, located about 10 kilometres from Maiduguri city centre, owing to massive inflow from Ngadda River, a major tributary of River Yedzaram. The Minister of State, Bello Goronyo, and I have visited Maiduguri, alongside the heads of agencies and parastatals in my ministry, to express solidarity with the governor of Borno State and to assess the extent of devastation caused by the flood,” Utsev stated.
He added {that a} crew of technical mavens from the ministry, Nationwide H2O Sources Institute, Nigeria Hydrological Services and products Company, and the Chad Basin Building Authority have been at the grassland to evaluate the condition at Alau Dam and the level of the flooding crisis, with plans to create suggestions in keeping with their findings.
“As we recover from this disaster, we must be mindful of the potential contamination of our water sources to avoid further outbreaks of waterborne and communicable diseases,” the minister warned.
As Nigerians mourned the losses in Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, and alternative states suffering from flood, Utsev known as for vigilance as river current ranges at the Niger and Benue rivers had considerably larger, with indications of a pink alert.
The minister additional suggested proactive measures to deal with possible flood in southern Nigeria.
FG blames situation exchange
The Federal Govt attributed the Borno flood to the results of situation exchange and extended bulky downpour. Utsev famous that the Alau Dam didn’t fall down throughout the new flood, opposite to previous experiences. He reiterated {that a} flooding threat ultimatum issued previous within the presen had recognized 31 states, together with Borno, as high-risk grounds.
In keeping with the Nationwide Situation Control Company, the flooding, which started on Tuesday, has claimed greater than 30 lives and displaced over 400 family. Previous experiences had mistakenly attributed the flood to the fall down of the Alau Dam within the Alau nation of the Konduga Native Govt Branch.
In a remark via the Director of Data and Community Family members on the Federal Ministry of H2O Sources and Sanitation, Funmi Imuetinyan, Utsev introduced plans for an improve of the Alau Dam.
“We are committed to a thorough overhaul of this critical infrastructure. The Alau Dam upgrade is non-negotiable, and any poor performance by contractors or officials involved will not go unpunished. Sanctions will be enforced for any delays or substandard work,” he stated.
The dam, built in 1986, has a most depot capability of 112 million cubic metres and used to be designed to serve H2O for irrigation and home virtue within the atmosphere capital.
Saturday PUNCH amassed that this isn’t the primary occasion flood has been attributed to the fall down of the Alau Dam. In September 1994, roughly 400,000 family in Maiduguri have been displaced via a flooding brought about via the dam’s fall down, which additionally destroyed plants and attribute in six states: Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kwara, Katsina, Plateau, and portions of Cameroon. A alike tournament took place in September 1999, prompting the operators of Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro dams to obvious their gates to block dam inundation.
Previous within the presen, Dr Adeniyi Aremu, Managing Director of the Decrease Niger River Basin Building Authority, North Central Nigeria, introduced Federal Govt plans to build extra dams national for potable H2O provide and irrigation.
Police get well 11 our bodies
The Borno Circumstance Police Command has showed the healing of eleven our bodies that drowned because of the flooding in diverse portions of the atmosphere.
In keeping with a remark signed via the Supervising Police Community Family members Officer for the Northeast, SP Ahmed Wakil, “The joint efforts of CP Yusufu Mohammed Lawal psc, as well as dedicated officers and men of the command, are actively engaged in addressing the flood disaster in Maiduguri metropolis (MMC). Regrettably, a total of eleven decomposed corpses have been recovered as a result of the recent flood disaster, and rescue operations are ongoing.”
The remark famous that the drowned our bodies have been recovered in several grounds, together with Lamisula, Jere, GRA, Bulabulin, and Dandal, between 10:00 am and a pair of:00 pm on 11 and 12 September 2024.
Islamic council urges prevention
The Nigerian Ideally suited Council for Islamic Affairs has known as at the govt to whip decisive motion to block time flood. In a remark via the Deputy Secretary-Basic, Prof Salisu Shehu, the NSCIA suggested government to totally deploy crisis control companies and the Northeast Building Fee to successfully supremacy the flow crisis and alleviate the struggling of affected citizens.
NESREA warns
In a bid to block time flood, the Director-Basic of the Nationwide Environmental Requirements and Rules Enforcement Company (NESREA), Dr Blameless Barikor, has warned amenities to deal with compliance gaps of their operations to keep away from sanctions. He expressed worry over the flagrant fail to remember for environmental rules via positive amenities throughout a regimen compliance tracking workout around the 36 states and the Federal Capital Field.
“Facilities that discharge untreated effluents and operate without necessary environmental documents such as Environmental Impact Statements, Environmental Audits, and Environmental Permits will face sanctions. From January to date, 75 non-compliant facilities have been shut down by NESREA, and the enforcement will continue,” Barikor stated.
FG dredges Ogun River
The Federal Govt on Friday commenced the dredging of the Ogun River from Isheri to Ikorodu, Lagos Circumstance, to block perennial flood of communities alongside the axis.
The Managing Director and Important Government Officer of Ogun/Osun River Basin Building Authority, Deji Ashiru, stated the six-month challenge would widen and build up the river’s intensity to house extra H2O and keep an eye on flood.
Ashiru clarified that flood within the Isheri branch of Ogun Circumstance has steadily been erroneously blamed at the Oyan Dam, while the 52 tributaries to the Ogun River have considerably contributed to the stand in H2O ranges.