GCMHE Blames Fed Govt for flooding in Nigeria
BY Margret Bankole
The Global Center for Media and Human Empowerment(GCMHE)has blamed the Federal Government for the flood that is ravaging many parts of Nigeria.
The Group made this assertion through its Ag. Director-General,Charles Ejoh in Jos,he said that the duty of any responsible government is to prevent and combat disaster.
Ejoh said:”The situation in many parts of Nigeria like Kogi,Jigawa,Rivers,Bayelsa and other parts of the country has brought disgrace and humiliation in this country and this is a sign of recklessness on the part of the Federal Government. With the present predicament occasion by the flood that have ravaged almost 31 states of the federation has hitherto cut off some parts of the country. If no serious and concerted effort is taken , a day may come when the bridge that links the North and South will collapse and Nigerians will not be able to move from the North to the South.
“At present many Nigerians are currently trapped by the ravaging flood for days from moving to the Federal Capital Territory(FCT)Abuja and many in the South have been submerged by the devastating flood. This only shows how unserious and reactional the present APC led government has been.
Ejoh added that environmental and climate issues should not be politicized and must be addressed with a very holistic approach.
“Let us tell some of these irresponsible characters in government that there is a limit to toy with the lives of the destinies of vulnerable Nigerians and politics should be far from this contending issue. There are issues that are beyond politics. But for their selfish reasons they have failed to take proactive measures to address the issue”.
He noted that recent coastal erosion and flooding in Kogi,Jigawa,River,Bayelsa,Anambra States and other parts of the country due to high precipitation are also attributable to global warming.
EAGLE EYE NEWS24 reports that the Minister of Environment on Wednesday debunked insinuations that the flooding ravaging the country is attributed to the opening of the Dam in Cameroun.
The Federal Government stated that excess water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon is not responsible for the flooding that has negatively affected parts of Nigeria.
The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, stated this at the 2023 budget defence of the ministry before the Senate Committee on Water Resources, in Abuja on Wednesday.
In a statement made available to the media on Thursday from the Director, Information of the Ministry, Mrs Offie Kenechukwu, the Minister said that the inflow from the dam to Nigeria is only one per cent.
Adamu made the clarification due to the belief and misconception of some Nigerians who have been blaming Cameroon for the upsurge in Nigeria’s flooding.
“Yes, the dam releases water; sometimes it releases water without notice and when they do that, it has impact on communities downstream.
“It is not the main reason you have flood in this country.
“The tributaries of River Benue are the main cause. And this year, the rains have been unprecedented,” the Minister said in the statement.
Adamu said the trans-boundary water that comes into Nigeria from rivers Niger and Benue constitutes only 20 per cent of the fresh water that flows into the country.
“Eighty per cent of the flood is water we are blessed with from the sky falling on Mambila and Jos Plateau.
“Most of this flow is from Nigeria,” he said.
The minister said that the Federal Government is not often informed by the Cameroonian Government on the annual release of water from Lagdo Dam.
“It took a lot of effort for us for them to sign an MoU to be informing Nigeria about releases.
“It was signed in 2016. Since then, every year , when the flood season comes, it is the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency that calls them to know their level of water.
“We can not blame the flood this year on Cameroon. We can only blame them for violating the terms of the MoU,” Adamu said.
The Minister announced that government would call for a review of the MoU.
