The National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on flooding to facilitate urgent actions to protect lives and economic activities, particularly in HYPADDEC states.
During a press conference on the severe flooding in some states, the commission’s Managing Director, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, said preliminary assessments by N-HYPADDEC’s officials revealed significant impacts, including the destruction of 634 communities and nearly 30,000 farmlands in Benue State and the loss of 6,959 households and around 10,000 farmlands in Kebbi State, with one life lost.
Yelwa also disclosed that six out of seven people declared missing after the flood disaster in Niger State’s Mashegu and Magama LGAs had been confirmed dead.
He noted that similar conditions prevailed in Gombe, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi and Kaduna.
Yelwa also called for urgent measures to prevent the complete collapse of the Dadin-Kowa dam in Gombe State, warning: “The situation is alarming. Our staff are on their way to Gombe to collaborate with the government and communities to implement a dam management initiative. Failure to act could lead to not just infrastructure damage, but also significant threats to life.”
He emphasised the need for the federal government to declare a state of emergency on flooding in N-HYPPADEC member states, urging the repositioning of relevant agencies and stakeholders to take proactive steps in containing the devastating impact of floods and ensuring prompt response to future incidents.
Yelwa attributed the recurring floods to inadequate infrastructure, failure to follow environmental guidelines and poor dam management.
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