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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Hydrological Services and the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has summoned the Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali, and the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) over the devastating flood that ravaged Mokwa, Niger State, in late May 2025.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Paschal Agbodike, issued the summons during an investigative hearing on the Mokwa flood, which caused significant loss of lives, property, and farmlands. Agbodike stated that the NRC has questions to answer regarding allegations that its railway construction contributed to the disaster.
Agbodike said: “This Committee is hereby inviting the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation and the Honourable Minister of Transportation to appear before us. They must come and explain why they undertook a project that directly led to loss of lives and property.
“We will not tolerate any loss of life as a result of flood again in this country; any ministry or agency that is responsible will be seriously dealt with.”
The lawmaker emphasized the need for a coordinated national response to the growing threat of flood disasters in Nigeria, focusing on vulnerable communities near Mokwa, Kanji, and Jebba dams in Niger State, as well as Ihiala and Ogbaru in Anambra, among others.
According to him: “Flooding has become a recurrent problem in Nigeria. Our goal today is to explore effective measures to mitigate the risks, improve preparedness, and strengthen disaster response systems nationwide.
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“The Mokwa, Kanji, and Jebba Dams are key to our national water and energy systems, but when mismanaged or left unattended, they pose enormous danger.”
Earlier, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Aliyu Abdulhameed, attributed the Mokwa flood to poor railway infrastructure.
Abdulhameed stated: “What happened in Mokwa, in particular, was caused majorly by the railway in the area. That was the only reason that made it happen.
“There is a railway embankment, up to about four meters high, that was actually stopping the water from draining into the River Niger. That was the major reason; it had nothing to do with Kainji Dam, it had nothing to do with Jebba Dam. Both are downstream.
“What happened was after the inauguration, they blocked completely those drainage systems that are supposed to allow the water to drain into River Niger. So the water piled up over the years.
“Since 2023, based on my visitations, because I was there, most of the people in the Mokwa settlement have lost their farms due to the accumulation of water upstream, trapped behind the railway embankment.”
