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By Billy Graham Abel, Yola
Senator Binos Binos Dauda Yaroe (PDP – Adamawa South) has said he will present a bill seeking for the dredging of the river Benue across Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and Kogi states as a result of incessant flood that perennially overrun communities in southern Adamawa State.
Yaroe said his people are tired of asking for relief materials and having their farm produce consumed by heavy flooding annually.
He said in tabling the bill, he would seek for the dredging of the Benue River in Adamawa, the building of buffet Dams to conserve excess volumes of water which could trigger irrigation and dry season farming and eventually empowers locals. He said he would also raise a motion that would compel relevant bodies like NEMA to immediately assess the damage caused by the flooding on communities in southern Adamawa and some parts of central Adamawa affected by the flood.
Yaroe made remarks while on an on-the-spot assessment of local communities affected by heavy flooding in Demsa, Numan, shelleng and Guyuk local governments of Adamawa State.
While on a tour of these communities, Binos laments the state of helplessness of the locals as houses have been leveled to the ground, farmlands submerged and economic activities ground by the invading flood.
“This behaviour of dishing out relief materials annually is not sustainable. We have to seek meaningful, productive and economically sensible solutions to this flooding,” Yaroe said.
“I am working on a bill that would be presented at the house within the week which seeks to proffer a lasting solution to the environmental disaster that affects our people. The bill will be in collaboration with all the senators from the affected states and we will call for immediate disbursement of ecological funds for the dredging of river Benue and all its adjoining tributeries in Adamawa, Taraba, Kogi and Benue states.
“The bill will also call for creation of buffer dams in strategic locations of these states that would serve as shock absorbers for conserving and diverting excess water which our people can use for irrigation farming and dry season farming.
“And the bill will also seek for the immediate intervention of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in assessing the immediate situation of our affected communities and provide relief materials to cussion the adverse affect of the flood as most of the the residents of have lost their farms, homes and livelihood.
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“We will be working towards procuring farm implements like water pumping machines to support our local communities to engage in the dry season farming and to get them back on their feet as soon as possible.”
While welcoming the senator, the paramount Ruler of Mbula kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Bwaltam Bently Biyapo, said he and his people are grateful to have a perceptive and visionary representative who has already captured everything that concerns our people.
HRM Bwaltam said “right now, there are seventeen (17) communities that have been completely flooded and the people have moved to a safer ground.
“Two communities that we could not go into because there is no way to go through. We have two camps for the internally displaced persons, one at Loh and the other at Bilaci where our people have been camped.
“The situation is critical for women and children who have been in the open sleeping in classrooms and making a living with what they can because their crops and farmlands have been swept away by the flood.
“All relevant government bodies and agencies should quickly come to our aid and support our people who really need help.”
The chairman of Demsa Local Government Area, Wanoke Wesley Fwa, said: “Communities in Demsa have been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the volume of water that has overtaken their lives and livelihood.
“Members of my community are in critical situation and in urgent need for help.
“Women and children have been sacked, exposed to mosquitos, hunger, air and water borne diseases, right now, they do not have food and the only food they are hoping for have been submerged and dried up right in their presence.
“This is obviously beyond what they could handle, the relevant institutions and bodies should please quickly come to our aid.
“I want to thank governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and our Senator, Binos Dauda Yaroe, who have been so sensitive and responsive to the plight of our people.”
