A few days ago, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, alerted Nigerians of impending flooding along the River Benue Basin.
According to the alert, the Cameroonian Government has plans to “open the flood gates of the Lagdo Dam on the Benue River”.
Recall that a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, was signed in 2016 between Nigeria and Cameroon regarding the release of water from the dam, in which Cameroon will always inform Nigeria before it opens the gates to the dam.
In a letter addressed to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cameroonian government warned of its intention to release water from the Lagdo dam and asked the agency to take precautionary measures.
After the notification, DAILY POST learnt the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also responded and served a notice on NEMA.
Over the years, the massive flooding in many states across the country was attributed to the release of water from the Lagdo Dam.
DAILY POST reports that the dam located along River Benue in the Republic of Cameroon has a history of over-flooding some Nigerian states along its navigation ways. These states include Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa.
However, in 2019, the dam was opened without prior notification, resulting in flooding in Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, and the Niger Delta regions during October and November of that year. There was also flood devastation in 2022, leading to the loss of lives and properties worth billions of naira.
NEMA had recently disclosed in its report that the 2022 flood disaster claimed no fewer than 665 lives, while 2,437,411 and 4,476,867 persons were displaced and affected, respectively.
Credit: dailypost.ng
