The multi-billion naira Dadinkowa Dam in Gombe State faces imminent collapse due to flood, Managing Director of National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, has disclosed.
Yelwa, who spoke on Monday in Minna, said officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment and Federal Ministry of Water Resources, as well as personnel of the Gombe State government had rushed to the dam site to see how it could be saved from collapse.
The managing director addressed the press on the issue and flood situations in the N-HYPPADEC states. He said one of the ways to save the dam “is to open the dam’s spillway gates” to throw out some of the impounded water.
But he said, “This, too, is dangerous to the people down side of the dam.”
Yelwa stated, “Looking at the devastation this year as it affects critical infrastructure and people’s means of livelihood, coupled with prediction on more flood to come, we call on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on flood, especially in N-HYPPADEC member states
He disclosed that the rainy season flood had killed 200 people and displaced 208,000 others in 28 states of the federation.
Yelwa said 80 per cent of those that lost their lives and those displaced were from the N-HYPPADEC catchment states as a result of their locations and electricity generation activities taking place in these states.
Yelwa stated, “Many homes and farmlands have been washed away.”
He attributed the incidences recorded “to poor infrastructure, failure to follow environmental guidelines and ineffective dam management”.
He disclosed that the situation could get worse in the coming days, saying that preliminary reports reveal that in Benue State so far, 634 communities have been affected, with nearly 30,000 farmlands washed away.
Yelwa said in Kebbi State, 6,959 households had been affected, with about 10,000 farmlands washed away, while one life was lost.
He said the situation was similar in Gombe, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi and Kaduna states, stressing, “This poses a very serious threat to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s quest for food security and wealth creation in the country.”
According to Yelwa, “This will reposition relevant agencies and critical stakeholders to not only take proactive measures in containing the devastating effect of the flood, but also remain on the alert to ensure prompt response to possible occurrence in weeks to come.”
Yelwa disclosed that the commission had intervened in the flood affected areas by executing critical flood and erosion control projects, including construction of 625-meter hydraulic drainage system at Koton Karfe, Kogi State, 1.2-kilometre hydraulic drainage system and another 2.5 kilometre de-silting on dyke flood plain in Benue State, flood control dykes and retaining walls in Yauri, Kebbi State, as well as Patigierosion control project in Kwara State.
He said those were in addition to about 500 flood victims’ resettlement housing schemes under construction in Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Kebbi states.
“We have urged Yelwa people living along the flood plains to be more vigilant and abide by instructions from relevant authorities to avoid further complications,” the N-HYPPADEC managing director said.
Laleye Dipo
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