In the aftermath of catastrophic floods in states across the country, the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency, NIHSA, says state governments failed to heed alerts since April 2024, pointing out that they are to be held responsible for the deaths and destruction of properties that attended the disasters.
Kebbi is the latest state to have suffered flood disaster as the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed, announced, last week, that at least 30 lives were lost, over 850, 000 acres of rice and other crops' farmlands destroyed while 326 houses were washed away by floods in the state.
Before then, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Bauchi and Zamfara states, among others, had been badly hit by floods, killing people, washing away farmlands and destroying properties.
The states were among those announced by NIHSA in its Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, in April to be impacted seriously by floods and, therefore, advised to brace up with preventive measures.
Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, the Director General, DG, NIHSA, Umar Mohammed, said the agency does not monitor the relocation of citizens or enforce it; but is mandated to issue flood alerts, which, in April, it gave in its AFO, saying state governors, among others, were carried along.
Mohammed stated that there had been warnings and measures given to state governments to mitigate impact of floods among which was to relocate their people from flood plains and those obstructing waterways and hindering free flow of water.
He said: "NIHSA is basically saddled with the responsibility of informing Nigerians about rising water levels at any given time.
"Therefore, we usually alert state governors to ensure they put in place measures that would safeguard the lives of their citizens against floods and people living and doing business along a particular river.
"Living on flood plains and building on waterways are very dangerous practices, which, at the end, terribly affect people.
"We sensitize governors to relocate their people to maybe camps; we also send our AFO to governors, especially those whose states are prone to flooding and also constantly give them flood alerts; so, they are to do the needful in return to relocate their people.
"So, the responsibility of relocation as far as flood issues are concerned solely lies with state governments and, as an agency of the Federal Government, we do not go to relocate anybody but give the necessary advice and measures that state governments should make use of to mitigate the impact of flood disasters.
"State governments need to enforce the vacation and relocation of their people in the peak of flooding.
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"So if there is any flood disaster impacting the people, state governments are to be held responsible and not us because we have told them to relocate their people, clear the drainages, collaborate with their town planners to remove structures blocking waterways, and do sensitization of their people on the need not to dwell where flood inundates, and put other measures in order to drastically minimize flood impacts on their people."
On the release of water from Lagdo Dam, the NIHSA boss said, "There has been systematic release of 100,000 cubic meters of water for seven days, then after the seven days, they start with 1,000 cubic meters."
