Ahead of the 2023 rainy season, the governments of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states say that they have put the necessary equipment in place to reduce flooding in their jurisdictions.
Recall that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), through its Director General, Prof. Mansur Matazu, predicted that Nigerians, particularly those staying around floodplain areas, would suffer flash and riverine flooding in 2023.
In response to this, the three states said that they were prepared and had put machinery in place to control expected flooding ahead of the rainy season.
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However, they bemoaned the fact that many villages were slowly vanishing owing to the destruction caused by gully erosion because the costs of stopping this natural occurrence were enormous and out of the government’s reach.
The Delta State Commissioner for Environment, Godspower Asiuwhu said that the state had taken preemptive measures to monitor flood-prone areas and determine the water level before the rainy season, as directed by the state governor.
He disclosed that his ministry has been holding town hall meetings with local government council chairmen to brainstorm on how to manage the effects of flooding during the rainy season in their communities.
The government in Edo, according to Mrs Evelyn Henry, information officer for the state Ministry of Environment and Sustainability, has started desilting water channels and constructing moats.
Henry said that Gov. Godwin Obaseki’s recent inauguration of the Edo State Flood Erosion Watershed Management Agency (FEWMA), which is intended to address flood and gully erosion issues in the state, was motivated by his commitment to addressing flood-related issues in the state.
According to her, the organization was created to maintain the improvements made in the state by the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
An official of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, also disclosed that the state had started putting other flood control measures in place ahead of the rainy season.
The official, however, said that it would require collaboration between the Federal Government and the state to address the huge natural phenomenon in the South-South region, especially in the riverine areas.
According to him, such collaboration will be in the area of construction of multiple dams in certain locations, adding that “if the Federal Government wants to actually tackle flood, it should treat it as a matter of priority”.
Story was adapted from EnviroNews.
