The National Hydroelectric Power Production Areas Development Commission, N-HYPPADEC, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on flooding, especially in 9 N-HYPPADEC member states due to the devastation of this year’s flood as it affects critical infrastructure and people’s means of livelihood, coupled with a prediction of more floods to come.
The managing director of the commission, Abubakar-Sadiq Yelwa, who made the call in Minna, said this will reposition relevant agencies and critical stakeholders not only to take proactive measures in containing the devastating effect of the flood but also remain on the alert to ensure prompt response to possible occurrence in weeks to come.
According to a report from the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA), this year, the flood has so far claimed nearly 200 lives, displaced over 208,000 people in 28 of the country’s 36 states, and washed away many homes and farmlands.
According to the Managing Director of N-HYPPADEC, Abubakar-Sadiq Yelwa, the incidents were attributed to poor infrastructure, failure to follow environmental guidelines and ineffective dam management.
The commission is, therefore, calling on the Federal Government to immediately do the needful.
According to Yelwa, if the situation is not tackled with immediate effect, it will pose a serious threat to President Bola Tinubu’s quest for food security, and wealth creation in the country.
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N-HYPPADEC further notes that, as a commission, they have played a significant role in containing incessant flooding by executing critical flood and erosion control projects.
They include the 625-meter hydraulic drainage system at Koton Karfe, Kogi State; a 1.2-kilometer hydraulic drainage system and another 2.5 kilometres of desilting on the Idye flood plain in Benue State; flood control dykes, and retaining the walls in Yauri, Kebbi State; as well as the Patigi Erosion Control Project in Kwara State.
This is in addition to about 500 Flood Victims’ Resettlement Housing Schemes under construction in Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Kebbi States.
From the available records, out of 13 states hit by flood this year, the worst hit are in the 10 N-HYPPADEC states of Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Gombe and Taraba.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
