It Will Take 30 Years Of Consistent Investment To Control Flood In Nigeria – FG

The Federal Government said it will take 30 years of consistent investment to control the menace of flooding in Nigeria.

FG Speak On Flooding In Nigeria

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, disclosed this while briefing State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.

According to him, the reoccurring flood incidents across the country can only be curtailed with consistent investments that would span for 30 years.

This year 2022, over 612 persons have been confirmed dead and 1.4 million displaced due the recent floods in the country.

Adamu said that nobody can stop flood in the country, stressing this the government would only be able to minimise the impact of the occurrence.

He stated that despite the early warning system in place, a lot of capital-intensive initiatives still need to be done in the future to avert the consequences of flood disasters.

Adamu who noted that the investments that would prevent flood are not something that can be achieved under one administration, also stated that flood cannot be prevented but can only be minimized by the government.

He further revealed that the present administration is already working on a flood management masterplan that will take at least three years to complete.

The Minister who alleged that many flood victims ignored warnings to evacuate, also blamed tree felling and degraded soil for the massive impact of this year’s floods in the country.

On criticism about government’s preparedness to handle flood emergency, the minister said: “There is no technology on earth, none that can tell you the extent of the floods, none whatsoever.

“You work on the basis of data that you have before. Now that the rains have come that is what hydrology is all about, this is a record and now we’re resetting the clock.

“So that our future plans will now consider that this is the historical catastrophic level that we will not account for. That is what engineering does. This has never happened before.”

KanyiDaily recalls that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had warned that more than 2.5 million people in Nigeria are in need of humanitarian assistance over the devasting floods in the country.