NEMA advises riverine communities in nine states to relocate
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has issued a flood alert warning to nine states.
The states are Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Taraba.
Director General of NEMA Mustapha Ahmed, made this known while giving his opening remarks at the agency’s National Emergency Coordination Forum meeting in Abuja.
The warning came after an alert on the sudden increased inundation of riparian communities and farmlands along the banks of River Benue in Adamawa, Taraba, and Benue states within 48 hours.
Ahmed said the sudden situation is due to the rapid release of waters from the Lagdo Dam in the Republic of Cameroon.
He said it has resulted in the displacement of several inhabitants of the communities affected.
“Situation reports from Adamawa State confirm the upsurge of flood waters along the flood plains of River Benue,” he said.
“The situation is expected to be replicated in the 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.”
Ahmed added that croplands and valuable infrastructure were at risk of getting washed away by the flood waters.