Flooding: FG Constitutes Committee to Re-assess Alau, Other Dams Nationwide

•Sets up disaster relief fund 

•Okays construction of 40 quarters for judges in FCT

•Establishes national citizens value brigade in schools

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Sequel to the recent flood disaster in Maiduguri, Borno State, and some other parts of the country, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) rose from its meeting yesterday and constituted a committee to re-assess the Alau Dam and others across the country to prevent reoccurrence.

FEC headed by President Bola Tinubu, mandated the Committee to develop detailed designs and recommendations for the overall reconstruction of the Alau Dam for future use.

Addressing newsmen after the FEC meeting, Minister of Water Resources, Prof Joseph Utsey, disclosed that the Council extensively deliberated on the flood situation across the country with emphasis on Maiduguri flooding.

He recalled that in 2022, the Federal  Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation had requested increased allocation from the National Assembly and support from the government of Borno State to address the bad component of the Alau Dam to enable the rehabilitation and specific repair of the 38-year-old dam.

Utsev said: “In 2022, there was a problem with one of the components of the dam. The Minister of Water Resources wrote to the National Assembly for allocation of more funds and the government of Maiduguri for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the 38-year dam to further facilitate water supply, purposes of irrigation and flood controls.

“We are now re-assessing the true integrity of the dam to come up with a detailed design for overall reconstruction. We also had a discussion with the management of Lagdo Dam on the release of 100 cubic meters of water that can be released within seven days and the Ministry sent a warning to those living along the river valley areas.”

Members of the constituted committee on the review of Alau dam and others were, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Security, Abubakar Kyari and few others.

Also speaking, Edun, told newsmen that the Council established a Disaster Relief Fund.

He explained that the Fund would focus on financing and bringing together funding from the three tiers of the government, the private sector and the international philanthropic organisations to build a resilient response to climate disaster occurrences across the country.

Acknowledging existing relief funds domiciled with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Flood Relief Funds set up in 2012, the Minister said that the President directed the set-up of the Fund to mitigate the climate challenges.

His words: “We agreed with the decision of Mr. President to start today’s FEC meeting with the devastating situation of flooding in Maiduguri in Borno State.

“At the end of that discussion which we started the meeting with, Mr President did direct that a disaster Relief Fund be set up. We know that there is NEMA, the Flood Relief Fund.

“The President feels that in this era of climate change and events from time to time, no matter the prevention measures there will be disasters that will occur. We need to build greater resilience in the form of a substantial Disaster Relief Fund separate from the agencies that intervene in disasters. This will focus on the financing.

“From the federal, subnational, local level, private sector, and even the international organisations. It will be led by top corporate governance including leadership by the private sector at an appropriate level to build for Nigeria a resilient response that is adequate in size, skill, and quality and able to respond to such occurrences as we have had in Borno and elsewhere.

“We know no matter how we pray against it; we know this will happen from time to time so we need to be ready.

“Now we know we do have the NEMA Relief Fund; we even have the Flood Relief Funds set up around 2012 but Mr President feels we need in this in this era of climate change.

“We need to build greater resilience in the form of substantial disaster relief funds, separate from agencies that actually intervene physically. This will focus on the financing and bringing together the funding from across the spectrum of the federal, sub-national levels, and the local levels and the private sectors and international philanthropic organisations”.

He emphasised the importance of pooling funds from various sectors and being prepared when disasters strike.

Edun equally disclosed that the Council passed the Draft Economic Stabilization Bill, which was largely based on the recommendations of the Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee. This bill, he said, would soon be sent to the National Assembly for passage into law.

The FEC also directed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration to immediately commence the construction of 40 number quarters at Katampe District to provide accommodation for Judges and Justices in the Territory.

FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who disclosed this to newsmen explained that, “What it means is that out of these 40, FCT High Court which is like FCT court will have 20, the Federal High Court will have 10 and the Court of Appeal will have 10. And these will be completed in 15 months.”

He stressed that the decision was predicated on the premium the Tinubu administration attaches to members of the judiciary.

According to Wike: “Mr President wonders how Judges and Justices will be living in rented houses and hotel apartments. That is not safe for our judiciary, that is not convenient for them to do their work. And so, Mr President directed that the FCT, through the FCDA should immediately construct 40 number Judges and Justices at Katampe District.”

He added that all the access as well as arterial roads within the quarters will also be constructed.

The federal government has also approved the setting up of the National Citizens Value Brigade across primary and secondary schools to raise role models and ambassadors that the Nigerian nation seeks.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris told newsmen that FEC gave approvals to several changes in the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation policies to strengthen the national value system, precisely the institution of national citizens value brigade across basic schools.

He added that the Council noted the gradual eroding of values especially among the younger ones giving rise to all forms of misconduct and acts that are not in tune with Nigeria’s traditions and norms.

According to the Minister: “Today council has approved several changes in our policy to strengthen our national value system, the chief of it is that the national citizen’s value brigade has been approved to be established in all our primary and secondary schools.

“Council has noted the gradual eroding of our values especially among the younger ones and this is giving rise to a kind of misbehaviour and acts that are not in tune with our traditions and our norms.

“Council has noted that there is a need for strengthening and going back to the core value that Nigeria is known for overtime for which we know that there has been some form of decline.”

Idris added that the Executive Council also approved the inclusion of a national value charter to be made mandatory in basic and post-basic school curricula.

He also stated that the council approved the standardisation of national symbols saying this would be a crucial aspect of the topics to be taught in civic education as well as instituted and adopted among government appointees at the point of entry into the public service.

His words: “Again there was approval of inclusion of national value charter and national symbols to be made mandatory not just in our curriculum but in the teaching of civic education.

“Not just in our curriculum but also among the appointees of government, for example at every retreat at the inception of every administration, members of FEC will have training on what our national values are not only that but also the standardisation of our national symbols.

“The national flag, the Naira notes, and all those things that make what we call our national symbols.”