The General
Manager, Benue Urban Development Board, Richard Agwa said this while speaking
as a guest on Channels Television’s News@ 10. With up to 100,000
people displaced and over 2,000 homes ravaged, Agwa believes that more funds
from the Federal Government will go a long way in enabling the state government
to provide much-needed relief and prevent recurrence of the flood disaster. He
said, “The major drainage channel that we have in Benue is flood-busy. The
phase one was constructed and now we have the phase two, which His Excellency,
(Governor Ortom) has directed that it should be surveyed.
“We are hoping that
we will get grants from the Federal Government. This channel, once it is
constructed, it will go a long way in assisting us with the situation in Benue
in terms of flooding. Because that is the main basin that empties into River
Benue. “So, if the channel is constructed, most of the water will be collected
and taken to River Benue without a problem. It will go a long way if we have
any assistance from the Federal Government.”
To bring succor to
the affected victims of the flood, President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier
directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately
mobilise personnel and resources few days after the flood hit the city,
promising that he would closely monitor the situation and will be receiving
regular updates on the scale of the disaster. Agwa during the Channels
Television News Programme noted that the water has receded but called on the
people to desist from dumping refuse inside drainages.
“The water has
receded to a very large extent, such that most of the people are going back to
their various houses. “The drainage channels have been overwhelmed. So,
residents are advised to stop dumping refuse in drainage channels. So that we
cannot have flash floods again.” The GM, Benue Urban Development Board also
said the state government is currently carrying out various measures to address
the disaster, some of which is the planned demolition of houses built on water
channels.
He said, “Those
structures have been marked for demolition sometime ago. I filed a report for
the committee which His Excellency (Goveror Ortom) has established.“We are
awaiting the Benue Executive Council to consider the report before we go into
action. We have about 11 main water channels in Makurdi and those structures
are spread across the 11 water channels that we have in Makurdi. “We have about
11 main water channels in Makurdi and those structures are spread across the 11
water channels that we have in Makurdi.”
The planned
demolition might not take effect immediately as most of the buildings marked
for demolition are in water logged areas. Manual demolition of fences
obstructing the free flow of water has been done to assuage the situation. “The vehicles that we will use for the
demolition cannot access these places, because of the waterlogged nature. But
some of the structures, like fences, have been demolished manually. That is
what we are doing right now, to avert further devastation,” Agwa said.
Channels
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