Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, received the Presidential Technical Committee for the development of a comprehensive plan of action for preventing flood disasters in Nigeria, urging the FG to dredge major rivers in Nigeria.
Receiving the committee on behalf of Mr. Governor, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello said the time has come for the Federal Government to ensure the dredging of major rivers nationwide.
He called for more collaboration between the Federal Government and state agencies towards ensuring that major flooding incidents are reduced to the barest minimum.
Bello added that dredging the major rivers would reduce the vulnerability of coastal states to flooding issues as experienced by many states last year.
He said that the Federal Government should take cognisance that Rivers Niger, Benue and Ogun, among others overflow to states close to them once they rise.
He said Lagos State Government has a proper Primary and Secondary Drainage master plan in place to curtail the issue from time to time.
“ From the beginning of every year, the government engages in serious public enlightenment / education across the state after receiving yearly rainfall prediction from Nigeria Institute of Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigerian Hydrological Service.
“The state usually organises media briefings before the rainy season, alerting the public about rainfall patterns and urging people living in low lying and depressed areas to relocate to safer areas.
“ Lagos government usually embarks on a comprehensive all year round cleaning and maintenance dredging of drainage channels, canals as well as constructing new drainages,” he said.
Bello noted that Lagos despite its peculiarities as a coastal state with low-lying terrains and a high population density among others recorded incidents of flash flood because of various measures put in place by the government.
Earlier, leader of the Presidential Technical Committee, Dr. Godstime James, explained that the Committee was established by the Presidency following the flooding incidents that were recorded in the country in the year 2021.
He said the Committee is to check each state’s policies on flooding, establish causes of flooding and come up with solutions and strategies to minimize the impact on the citizenry.
James said the Committee was divided into the six geo-political zones of the country, adding that two states were selected per zone while adopting the bottom to top approach where each state of the federation will be listened to as well as the local communities in the flood affected areas.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Lekan Shodeinde, said Lagos had always executed plans to ensure that the state does not experience flooding based on the awareness that the state is always affected by coastal, riverine and urban flooding.
He noted that in the year 2022, Lagos mildly experienced flooding and this was achieved through the measures and policies put in place by the Ministry.
He appealed for a better synergy between Lagos State and the Federal Government to ensure that flooding is controlled with little or no impact to the people of Lagos.
