By John Ikani
Nigeria’s Ministry of Water Resources has warned that 233 local governments across 32 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are at risk of witnessing heavy flooding during the 2022 rainy season.
Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu gave the warning on Thursday at a meeting organized by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) in Abuja.
According to the minister: “The level of floods in the highly probable flood risk areas between the months of April and November is expected to be high in terms of impacts on population, agriculture, livelihood, livestock, infrastructure and the environment.”
Adamu went on to note that Nigeria’s Capital City Abuja and Lagos, the nation’s commercial hub, are among the states to experience heavy flooding.
“Some 233 local government areas in 32 states of and the FCT fall within the highly probable risk areas, while 212 local government areas in 35 states, including the FCT, fall within the moderately probable flood risk areas,” he said.
The minister listed the highly probable flood risk states as Adamawa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the FCT.
He therefore called on all stakeholders to consider the flood forecasts, flood early warnings and information being issued by NIHSA in its weekly and monthly flood alerts to reduce flooding disasters in the country.
Clement Nze, the head of NIHSA, said the primary goal of the meeting is to raise awareness among policymakers, farmers and the general public, and preventive measures are required to improve safety and reduce damage to lives and properties.
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