FG: Lagbo Dam Not Responsible for Massive Flooding in Nigeria

•Bayelsa residents groan as food, fuel, water prices escalate 

•Diri meets fuel marketers, traders’ leadership

•A’Ibom govt places emergency management agencies on red alert 

•Okowa seeks FG, special support for Delta IDPs

•Humanitarian group donates relief materials to Kogi victims

•Most Anambra farmers died because they couldn’t leave their crops

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja, David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka, Okon Bassey in Uyo, Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja and Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

The federal government yesterday said the Lagbo Dam in Cameroon was not responsible for the natural disaster currently ravaging many parts of the country, contrary to the widely held insinuation.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu stated this while defending the 2023 budget of his ministry before the Senate Committee on Water Resources.

Also, as residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State continue to groan over the rampaging flooding of their houses and businesses, more woes have come their way in the form of the escalating prices of food items, commodities, transportation and other products

According to Adamu, most of the water that caused flooding was not from the Lagbo Dam. He explained that the contribution from the dam to Nigeria was only one per cent.

He said, “The dam releases water; sometimes it releases water without notice and when they do that, it impacts on communities downstream. It is not the main reason you have flood in this country.

“The tributaries of River Benue are the main cause. And this year, the rains have been unprecedented. The transboundary waters that even come into this country from Rivers Niger and Benue constitute only 20 per cent of the fresh water that flows into the country.

“Eighty per cent of the flood is water we are blessed with from the sky falling on Mambila and Jos Plateau. Most of this flow is from Nigeria.”

Speaking further, the minister said the federal government was not informed by the Cameroonian Government on the annual release of water from Lagbo Dam.

He said, “It took a lot of effort from us for them to sign an MoU for them to be informing Nigeria about releases.

“It was signed in 2016.  Since then, every year, when the flood season comes it is the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency that calls them to know their level of water.

“We cannot blame the flood this year on Cameroon. We can only blame them for violating the terms of the MoU.”

Adamu further said the government would call for a review of the MoU to abate the flood.

On the Dasin Hausa Dam in Adamawa which could serve as a solution to flooding, Adamu said, “whether we are able to do the dam or not, we will continue to have floods on the Rivers Niger and Benue Basins.”

He said, “There was a consultant that had been appointed by the previous administration to work on this dam.

“When I came into office, I checked the scope of work and the terms of reference. I was not satisfied that justice will be done to that design.

“You cannot build a dam as important and strategic as Dasin Hausa on river benue without a detailed feasibility and engineering design.

“I disengaged the consultant in 2016. It was one of the 116 projects that we had. In our roadmap, we made a decision that going forward, we have enough dams, 37 ongoing. We cannot take any new dam, let’s complete what is ongoing.

“We appointed a consultant to do the required diligent feasibility study and engineering design for the project.”

He expressed optimism that by March 2023, the dam would be completed.

Earlier, Chairman of the Committee Sen. Bello Mandiya urged the ministry to find lasting solution to flooding.

Bayelsa Residents Groan as Food, Fuel, Water Prices Escalates

Also, as residents of Yenagoa continue to groan over the rampaging flooding of their houses and businesses, more woes have come their way in the form of the escalating prices of food items, commodities, transportation and other products.

This is coming even as the total darkness which has pervaded the state in the last one week has led to the hike in the cost of water which include sachet water and household water normally supplied by water vendors.

A 20 little gallon of water which was normally sold for N20 and N30, now cost between N50 and N80 depending on the distance, while a sachet water is now N20 per sachet and a bag of 20 sachet goes for N300.

The price of petrol has also escalated and not available in the filing stations. The few persons who manage to sell in the black markets said they swim across to neighboring Rivers State to get the products.

Similarly, prices of food products such as rice, yam, tomatoes, onions, pepper, beans and other essential commodities needed for survival are rising every day in the markets.

Presently, three small bulbs of tomatoes or onions cost between N400 and N500 depending where you get them to buy, while the price for a bag of rice is now between N40,000 and N50,000.

Some of those who spoke with THISDAY said the problem of was caused by the continued flooding which has cut supply to the state.

He said some of the supply to the state were still in vehicles trapped or stranded across the border towns of Ahoada in Rivers State and Patani in Delta state, as the East-West road is now impassable to vehicle.

However, the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has taken steps to arrest the sudden rise in the price of food items and petroleum products in the state.

Diri, after separate meetings with the state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Petroleum Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) and market union leaders yesterday, in Government House, Yenagoa, announced the setting up of two committees comprising of government officials, the marketers and traders respectively.

He said the meetings were convened to address the arbitrary increase in the price of petroleum products and goods in the state and cautioned against plunging the state into another crisis while it is grappling with the flooding challenges.

He explained that the petroleum committee was to seek all means to make petroleum products, including cooking gas, available either by road or through the state’s maritime domain.

He said government would bear the cost of security and transportation of the product in barges while the marketers would pay for the product.

According to him, the government got worried when it received reports that a litre of premium motor spirit was being sold for N800 above the approved pump price of N180.

Likewise, he said the government would bear the cost of bringing goods into the state through the waterways while the committee will ensure that goods are sold at reasonable prices.

Diri stated that the government took the initiative as a short-term measure to ameliorate the suffering of people of the state occasioned by the floods.

The state helmsman reminded the fuel marketers and traders that extant laws prohibited them from exploiting consumers, saying government will not hesitate to invoke the laws on those who refuse to heed the warning.

Members of the petroleum committee include a House of Assembly member, Oforji Oboku, the Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Dr. Jones Ibieri and his counterpart in the Transport Ministry, Grace Ekiotene.

Others are the Federal Coordinator, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Godwin Iruafemi, State Chairman, IPMAN, Mr. Ere Erefamote as well as two other members each from the associations.

The other committee is headed by the Principal Secretary, Government House, Mr. Irorodamie Komonibo.

Other members include the Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Federal Otokito, the commissioners representing the three senatorial districts, the Commissioner for Environment, Iselema Gbaranbiri, Special Adviser on Security (1) and his counterpart on non-indigenes as well as the chairmen of the central zone of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and the Ijaw National Congress (INC).

The committee also has representatives from the Kpansia and Swali markets. Both committees are to commence work immediately.

A’Ibom Govt Places Emergency Management Agencies on Red Alert

Meanwhile, worried by the devastating effects of the massive flooding in some areas in Akwa Ibom State, the state government has called for a review of the flood map capacity of the state.

Consequently, the state government at the end of its weekly State Executive Council meeting directed all relevant agencies involved in emergency management to be on red alert.

Briefing journalists in Uyo, at the end of the council meeting, the State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, said: “The council also mandated the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to start sensitisation in rural areas as a step in managing a possible occurrence.”

Also, after receipt of reports by the various Ministries on projects under their portfolio, the executive council directed the ministries to expedite work on those projects to catch up with the time frame for completion and to also beat the continuous eroding value of the nation’s currency.

The council was informed that state-owned Four-Point By Sheraton Hotel in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area has been completed and handed over to its new management, Marriott International, for commencement of operations.

“Test run of the hotel will soon commence, prior to official commissioning of the facility for use, as all the 146 rooms are ready for use,” Ememobong stated.

The Executive Council also gave approval for commencement of work for the construction of a 12 Megawatts Power Distribution Substation at Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

This, he explained, was a critical infrastructure need of the area to boost power supply in Etim Ekpo, Ukanafun, Oruk Anam and Ika Local Government Areas and their environs.

Okowa Seeks FG, Special Support for Delta IDPs

In the meantime, Delta State Governor and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has called on the federal government, corporate organisations and individuals to come to the aid of victims of flood in the state.

Okowa made the call yesterday, when he visited flood victims at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps at Utagba-Ogbe Technical College, Kwale, in Ndokwa West; Alaka Grammar School, Ozoro in Isoko North; St. Michael’s College, Oleh and Isoko Central School, Oleh both in Isoko South Local Government Areas of the state.

He empathised with all the flood victims in the state and assured that his administration would continue to support them until they were able to return to their homes after the flood crisis.

According to the governor, who defied heavy downpour to visit the camps, the state government may not be able to estimate the extent of destruction but obviously the flood is very massive.

“This is the seventh camp we have visited since yesterday –  three yesterday and four today and we have four other established camps. Beyond that, there are so many community camps that are being managed in the communities.

“It is a very extensive flood with a lot of displacement of people and I must thank all the various persons that have come here in the camp to stay.

“In all the camps we have visited they are actually bonding together as a family and when the state government and other willing donors are providing food materials, the women themselves are cooking and they are all living happily together.

“I am also very glad that the children have started school here and at the other camps we had visited.

“We have doctors and nurses attending to the health needs of the people here and I have been told that they have recorded three deliveries here and that there are over twenty pregnant women.

“By the special grace of God, we will try to do everything to make them comfortable and I want to use this opportunity to thank all those who have been able to donate food and other items to the various camps.

“And I call on Deltans and non Deltans who live in Delta that they should come out and support, whatever government is doing, it is best they support them,” he stated.

Humanitarian Group Donates Relief Materials to Kogi Victims

In a related development, in Kogi State, due to effects of floods in Lokoja and (Koto Karfe) Kogi local government areas of the state, a humanitarian group, SBA Foundation has donated relief materials worth millions of naira to the victims in the two local government. The intervention was aimed at mitigating the effects of devastations.

The recent flood had badly affected several riverine communities in Lokoja and Koto Karfe which has necessitated the assistance the humanitarian group.

While speaking at presentation of the relief materials to the victims in Lokoja and Kogi (Koton-karfe) Local Government Areas of Kogi state, the Chairman of the Foundation, Yahaya Adama, expressed sadness over the development and described it as a natural phenomenon that has impacted lives negatively.

He sympathised with the state government and the affected victims, noting that the items were intended to cushion the effects of the flooding.

Adama urged the beneficiaries to use the relief items judiciously and pleaded with community leaders who were part of the distribution to ensure that the items were equitably distributed to actual victims.

The Chairman expressed appreciation to Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, who is the foundation’s financier, noting that the overall mandate of the foundation was to care for the well-being of the populace, noting that they would never waver from that call.

In their separate responses, beneficiaries commended the foundation for their assistance, saying the items would go a long way in cushioning the effects of the flood.

Items distributed included bags of rice, and noodles, among others.

Most Anambra Farmers Died Because They Couldn’t Leave their Crops

Also, the Anambra North Senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mrs. Uzoamaka Peace Obimuonso has said most people who died as a result of the flood was because they didn’t want to leave their farms.

Obimuonso who hails from the riverine area of the state during an interview with journalists in Awka, said the level of death registered in the recent flood in the area was unprecedented.

She said: “It was not easy on our people, even when some of them saw the ferocious nature of the flood, the temptation for them not to abandon the source of their income was high.

“Some of our people who could not resist the temptation to abandon their farm produce, got drowned by the flood. That was the story of some people from Nzam conveying their rice produce to market unfortunately they lost their lives.

“It was the same story at Ogbaru, where some people had to beg a boat man to ferry them to market, but they still could not make it because they lost their lives as a result of overload of goods and persons.

“Some persons were literally swept away from their houses by the menacing flood. All most all the houses in Anambra North got submerged by the flood. A lot of farm produce were lost to the flood.

“All these deaths could have been averted if the people were sure of the source of their next meal. Most times, the farmers borrow money from local money lender, which if they fail to pay back when due, attracts heavy consequences.

“With all these calamities that has befallen us in these past weeks, and Anambra State is yet to feel the presence of NEMA and Federal Ministry of Humanitarian, Social Development and Emergency Services.”

She called for more attention from relevant authorities, both in provision of food item, household items and drugs.