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From John Adams Minna
Communities in Niger State are beginning to count their losses as early morning rain yesterday ripped through farmlands in Kafin Koro, Paikoro Local Government Area.
Also affected are about 18 communities in Lapai local government area of the state where some farm lands were equally affected and many others at the risk of being swept away. Dere, Eshi, Apataku, Tsakanabi, Kuchi Kakanda, Arah, Achiba, Rebba, Ebwa, Pele, Edda, Rigido, Gbami, Yawa, Baka, and Muye are among the flood risk communities.
This is coming even as the state government on Sunday re-echoed it’s earlier warning to Riverside communities in the state to immediately relocate to higher ground as the rain intensified across the state.
The state government in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication Media and Strategy, Jonathan Vatsa, appealed to communities in the affected areas to immediately relocate to a safer place to avoid further disaster in the state.
He said though the government understands the attachment to the ancestral homes by these communities, the need for them to adhere to the government warning and relocate pending when the rain will be over.
“We as a government will continue to be proactive by appealing to the people, especially those at the flood prone areas to immediately move up land to avoid the experience of the Mokwa disaster.
“The government is aware of their attachments to their ancestral homes and lands but with the various flood alerts, and what we are already experiencing, there is the urgent need for them to heed to the government warning.
“The Mokwa experience is still very much with us and we can not afford a repeat of such experience. That is why the government is urging the people to move to a higher ground”.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency had previously identified 15 out of the 25 local government areas in the State as very vulnerable to flooding every rainy season.
The Federal Government has instructed residents in four local government areas of the State to move to safer locations as heavy rainfall is expected to trigger flooding between July 31 and August 4, 2025.
This latest directive by the Federal Government followed a flood alert issued by the National Flood Early Warning Centre under the Federal Ministry of Environment, which indicated that communities in Rijau, Sarkin Pawa, Suleja, and Mashegu are at high risk of flooding during the forecast period.
The Federal Government warning is contained in a statement titled: “Flood Prediction” by Usman Bokani, Director of Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department, wherein the ministry urged relevant authorities to take proactive measures to mitigate disaster impacts.
“The following locations and their surrounding areas are projected to experience intense rainfall that could result in flooding within the specified timeframe.”
While disclosing that the state government will soon embark on an enlightenment campaign to all the flood prone communities, Vatsa called on traditional rulers, community and religious leaders to join the government in sensitising people.
