Abuja – The Senate on Thursday urged the Federal Government to complete the Dasin Hausa Dam project in Dasin community in Adamawa and others across the country so that they could be put to use.
It also charged the government to effectively maintain and manage all existing dams and make them useful for irrigation farming.
The call was sequel to a motion by Sen. Stella Odua (PDP Anambra North) on the menace of flood in the country and non-functioning dams.
Odua said that availability of functional dams in the country would help to mitigate the effects of floods, and called for the completion of ongoing dam projects and construction of new ones ‘’to control excess water during rainy seasons’’.
She decried the recurrence of flooding in the country, especially arising from the release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroun, saying that the menace had led to economic losses to Nigeria to the tune of N2 trillion.
She said that the 2012 flooding alone caused economic losses amounting to over N2.6 trillion as revealed by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
According to Odua, the economic losses occasioned by inadequate dams would have been enough to build enough dams and even invest in other sectors of the economy.
She pointed out that the fact that the 2012 flood could have been avoided or at least mitigated made the loss of lives and property unnecessary.
She said that there were indications that constant flooding had brought about strange illnesses and diseases.
Seconding the motion, Sen. Binta Garba (APC Adamawa North) noted that recent flooding cases in the country, which affected lives of many people had ‘’no reason to occur in spite of early warnings’’.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
Contributing, Sen. Uche Ekwunife (PDP Anambra Central) said that flood was a natural disaster that could not be stopped but could be mitigated.
She advocated that states and local government councils should assist the Federal Government in the control of menace, stressing that ‘’government at the centre cannot do it alone’’.
“States and Local Governments should activate their emergency management apparatus and not relying only on NEMA whenever there is an emergency,’’ Ekwunife said.
Other senators, who spoke advised that the dams when constructed, should be utilized for irrigation farming.
They also advocated gradual release of water from dams so that such dams would be not counter-productive at the end of the day.
The red chamber advised the government to convene a stakeholders’ meeting to evaluate the recurring flooding problem with a view to proffering lasting solutions.
It commended National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relevant agencies and individuals, whose efforts contributed to reducing casualty rate and impact of the disaster.
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, charged the relevant committee of the senate to follow up the motion and work hard to find a lasting solution to flooding. (NAN)