NEMA Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed briefing stakeholders and the media
By Miriam Humbe
The National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA) has said that situation reports from Adamawa State confirmed the upsurge of flood waters along the flood plains of River Benue.
NEMA’s Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed said the sudden situation was attributed to the rapid release of waters from Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameroon which has resulted in the displacement of several inhabitants of the affected communities.
The Director General said: “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.”
The Director General revealed this in Abuja on Saturday at the Emergency Coordination Forum (ECF) meeting convened to discuss the current flood situation along the River Benue resulting from the on-going release of water from Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameroon.
NEMA therefore alerted 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 could arise due to inundation of communities by flood waters.
Ahmed said: “Furthermore, croplands and valuable infrastructure are at risk of getting washed away by the flood waters.”
He said NEMA was expecting to receive updates from the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet), NEMA Operations Office in Yola Adamawa State and from State Emergency Agencies of the frontline states to keep on updating the public on the situation as it unfolds.
The Director General said that the NEMA situation room dashboard 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 in 13 States across Nigeria.
He therefore assured that NEMA would continue working with its partners and the Press to update Nigerians on the emerging situation.
The outcome of the deliberations at this in Abuja on Saturday at the Emergency Coordination Forum were expected to be shared to responsible Agencies and individuals to enable them take the right decisions in line with their statutory mandates.
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