Minister alerts people living in Kainji and Jebba to vacate flood plains

[The InfoStrides]

The Minister of Water resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe has urged people living at the flood plains, especially, Jebba and Kanji in Niger State to move away to avoid repeat of 2012 flooding.

 

Mrs. Ochekpe made this known on Friday, 30th of August, 2013 during a stake holders meeting on flood warning in Abuja. She said the essence of the meeting was to sensitize general public, with particular reference to people living around Kainji and Jebba dams.

 

The Minister said following the alert received from the Transmission Company of Nigeria on the potential threat of flooding of the Kainji and Jebba Dams, the Ministry took measure to bring all the stakeholders together.  She declared: "The meeting would therefore, be able to address the issue from our different perspective and come up with an implementable strategy for plan of action to sensitize the communities in the flood plains of the reservoirs of the Kainji and Jebba Dams within the cooperative framework of management of floods as part of our Inter-ministerial Emergency Preparedness for 2013 flood and Rainfall Prediction,"

 

Ochekpe further said that the stakeholders would put in place advocacy and sensitization programme on flood, using communication experts to visit the area and educate them on the need to move away from the flood prone areas.

 

It should be recalled that during the construction of Jebba and Kainji dams, communities living there were relocated far away from the Dams' site, but, gradually the communities move closer to the dams site and face threat of flooding if the dams over flow.

 

In his remarks, the General Manager Transmission Company of Nigeria, Engr. Ciroma Jospeh said that the ongoing rehabilitation of Jebba spillway channel funded by the World Bank under Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Sustainable Eco system Programme requires that the spillway gates will not be operated until full execution of the rehabilitation works. 

The GM added that considering the current advance stage of the work, spillway operation for flood management at this stage would damage and wash away, all the works so far accomplished.   However, he said the use of spillway gates may become unavoidable under emergencies, where there is a higher magnitude of inflow beyond the capacities of alternative discharge facilities.

 

The Minister while commending the stakeholders for their timely response to the invitation, called on the media to ensure objective report and help in carrying awareness of the flood challenges to Nigerians.

Federal Republic Of Nigeria | nigeria.gov.ng

[Folami David]

That is why flood is not something we should toy with in this country. Things have to be done to make things work in that aspect!