The Ohimege of Igu-Kotonkarfe in Kogi State, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Alhaji Abdulrazak Sani Isa Koto, has called on the federal government to intensify efforts towards dredging the River Niger to avert yearly flood crises in the state and elsewhere.
Alhaji Koto, while speaking during an interview with our reporter at his palace said this year’s flood was the worst in the history of his chiefdom.
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He said over 50 riverine communities in the chiefdom were displaced by the flood, noting that the victims lost their means of livelihood and houses.
He said those displaced, who were peasant farmers and fishermen, were exposed to all kinds of health hazards, noting that to avoid being infected with diseases, they had to relocate permanently to safer areas.
He further said the government should assist in building not only houses for the displaced victims but also health centres, schools, roads, pipe-borne water and farm inputs to enable them to engage in dry-season farming.
“We have enough land where these victims can relocate to and build their houses comfortably without any fear of being affected by floods. But it is the government that can come to their aid by not only building houses for them but by providing social amenities too,” he explained.
The monarch attributed the flooding to the blockade of water channels into the River Niger due to the dualisation of the Abuja-Lokoja highway.
