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From John Adams, Minna
Niger House of Assembly has directed Governor Umar Mohammed Bago to immediately take preventive measures to step possible flooding of communities in the state.
This is against the backdrop of warnings by the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMET) of heavy rainfall this year.
The lawmakers specifically asked the state government to as a matter of urgent embark on aggressive sensitization of the people across all flood pruned local government areas in the state. It said this would educate them on the need to relocate from low grounds to high grounds.
The House gave the directive at its plenary, yesterday, presided over by Deputy Speaker, Afiniki Dauda after a motion of urgent public importance brought before the House by the member representing Gbako Constituency, Yahaya Ahmadu.
The lawmaker had called on the government to immediately take proactive measures and sensitize people living around riverside communities on the impending flooding as predicted by NIMET.
Yahaya while moving the motion, pointed out that already no fewer than nine communities and villages in his constituency have been ravaged by the flood while many more face threats from severe flooding.
He said if the prediction by the NiMET is anything to go by, no fewer than 17 local government areas of the state will be affected by severe flooding this year. He disclosed that though no life has been lost, farmlands, farm produce and other properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed since the rain started.
“There is the need for immediate government intervention in communities already affected in the area of provision of healthcare, food and temporary shelters to reduce their sufferings. This issue of flooding has been a yearly occurrence and therefore the warning by NiMET must be taken serious, the executive arm of the government must take a proactive measures towards forestalling a re-occurrence and avoid unnecessary lost of lives and properties.”
The House while passing the motion, expressed regret that successive administrations in the state have continue to pay lip-service to issues of flood in the state in spite of havoc wrecked across communities.
The Deputy Speaker, who presided the plenary, directed the clerk of the House, Abdullahi Kagara to communicate the resolution of the House to the executive arm of the government for immediate action.
