The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib Ahmed, has alerted states and local government areas along the River Niger and Benue on the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
The DG said that the release of the water would cause severe flooding in Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Delta and Bayelsa, with an upsurge in Adamawa
Ahmed revealed this on Saturday in Abuja during an emergency meeting with stakeholders in reaction to the flood disaster that affected Adamawa State from October 4.
He said that in the past 48 hours,NEMA had been alerted to the sudden increased inundation of riparian communities and farmlands along the banks of River Niger in Adamawa, Taraba and Benue states .
According to him, “Situation reports from Adamawa State confirm the upsurge of floodwaters along the flood plains of River Benue. The situation is expected to be replicated in downstream states of Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa Kogi, Anambra, Edo. Delta and Bayelsa as the River Benue joins River Niger and flows to the Atlantic Ocean through the Niger Delta,” he said.
While explaining that the sudden situation was attributed to the rapid release of waters from Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameroon, the DG said that it had resulted in the displacement of residents of the affected communities adding that croplands and valuable infrastructure were at risk of getting washed away by flood waters.
He, said “As a result of the unfolding situation, I want to use this opportunity to alert authorities of state and local governments along rivers Niger and Benue basin areas to immediately activate their emergency response plans to avert potential damage and losses that will arise due to inundation of communities by flood waters.”
“Furthermore, we are expecting to receive updates from the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) NIMET, NEMA Operations Office in Yola Adamawa state and from State Emergency Agencies of the frontline states to keep on updating you on the situation as it unfolds.”
Speaking further,he said, the dashboard of the agency indicated that this year’s flood scenario had affected 159,157 persons, resulted in the loss of 28 persons and the displacement of 48,168 individuals across 13 states in the country.
