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NIHSA boss Umar Mohammed says Cameroonian authorities started releasing water from the Lagdo Dam on Wednesday.

The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), on Thursday, said water from the Lagdo Dam in neighbouring francophone country, Cameroon, has been released into River Niger and River Benue in Nigeria’s North Central.

The Agency warned Nigerians resident in floodplains to relocate immediately to safe spaces in anticipation of attendant floods that annually come with the release of water from the Lagdo Dam.

NIHSA Director-General, Umar Mohammed, issued this warning when he featured on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast programme on Thursday.

Mohammed said his Agency met with the authorities in Cameroon and agreed that water from the Lagdo Dam be released “intermittently” for the River Benue and River Niger in Nigeria to be able to contain the volume of water to avoid flooding in 11 states at risk.

“The situation is that water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam has been released already since yesterday (Wednesday) and there is an agreement that the water should be released in phases,” said Mohammed, who was represented on the programme by the Agency’s Director of Operations and Hydrology, Femi Bejide.

On Tuesday, the Federal Government alerted Nigerians to the plan by the Cameroonian authorities to release water from the Lagdo Dam.

NIHSA listed flood-prone states to include Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, and Rivers.

The NIHSA boss said for now, there is calm and normalcy and the water is being regularised from the Lagdo dam, though the currents are rising.

He said all Nigerians have a role to play in preventing flooding as the previous release of water from the Lagdo Dam has caused constant flooding in Nigeria.

“Everybody has their part to play; as the Federal Government is doing its part, our agency is doing its part, NEMA is prepared, individuals should also have to do their part. They have to move from the floodplain.

“Houses also, have their drainages, they have to clean and clear their drainages. Water will find its way so the waterways should be cleared, and the drainages should be cleared to allow water to move. That is the responsibility of everybody.

“Look at your house, if your house is at the flood plane, please move please move from the flood plane, it is an appeal,” the NIHSA boss stated.

FG To Build Five Buffer Dams

Mohammed said a report has been submitted to the Presidency, on the way forward noting that some of the dams in Nigeria have to be de-silted.

“What has to be done also is that there’s a report that has been submitted to the Presidency. We have to have buffer dams and five have been proposed and the Federal Government is looking at that already,” he said.

“But in the interim, some of our dams have to be de-silted, the tributaries of River Niger and Benue have to be expanded.

“I learnt that there is a little issue with the design and they are trying to amend the design. I believe that in the next two to three years that would have been put in place.”

The release of water from the Lagdo Dam comes days after water from overflowing Alau Dam killed over 30 persons and swept away thousands of homes in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State.

In 2022, flooding ravaged many states, claimed 665 lives, displaced 2,437,411 persons, and affected 4,476,867 persons, according to data from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

In 2023, devastating floods affected 159,157 individuals, caused the loss of 28 lives, and displaced 48,168. The release of water from the Lagdo Dam contributed to some of the flooding cases experienced.

For 2024, NEMA said flooding affected 1,048,312 people between April and September 2024, displaced 625,239 persons and killed 259 lives.