NAN-H-103
Dams
By Okon Okon
Abuja, June 13, 2017 (NAN) Dr Moses Beckley, the Director-General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has urged Federal Government to construct more dams to address flooding incidents in the country.
Beckley made the call in an interview with newsmen, on the sideline of the 2017 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) forecast workshop organised by the agency on Tuesday in Abuja.
Cue in audio (Beckly)
“We have over 200 dams in the country yes, but we need much more than that, very functional dams.
“And that will go a long way in helping us to harness this water very well for various other uses-power generation, agriculture, water supply, fishery etc.
“Yes we have dams in the country to help us in this regard; talking about the Kainji dam, the Jebba dam and many other dams in the country to help us harness this water.
“But the truth of the matter is that we don’t have enough dams.
“And that is why most of this water especially from the Benue flanks from the Lag do dam down to the Confluence area and right down to that place could be disastrous, destructive if people are not staying clear off these plains.
“So, that is the scenario, that is the picture, however, the flood outlook which we have come out with today is to further sensitise the nation about what we expect.
“And we have said here that we have eight hydrological areas and we also have four major highlands and these highlands form the water heads and this water flows down into the major channels.
“Of course the channels should be maintained and people in these communities should stay clear from these channels.’’
Cue out audio
Beckley, however, explained that less floods were expected in 2017 against 2016 a situation, he attributed to the collaboration with other agencies like NiMET, NEMA, NOA and the precautionary measures taken by the Federal Government. (NAN)
MZM/LAB/YEE
Edited by Lydia Beshel/Emmanuel Yashim
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