Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has said his administration will review the town planning to mitigate the impact of flood in the state capital, Maiduguri.
Zulum, who stated this shortly after inspecting the ongoing rehabilitation work at the Alau dam, noted that some residents still erect buildings on waterways and dump refuse into drainages.
We will soon review the town planning of the metropolis to ensure all tributaries and waterways are cleared and functional,” he said
He warned that all structures erected on waterways will be demolished to avoid a repeat of the carnage caused by the September 10th, 2024, flood in Maiduguri and Jere.
Our team of engineers and your own should put heads together and come up with workable recommendations to ensure that what happened before is not repeated,” he said.
While inspecting the progress of work at Alau Dam, Zulum acknowledged the widespread panic among Maiduguri residents of impending flood.
He allayed fears over the rising water level of Alau Dam reservoir, saying that based on engineering analysis “there is no cause for alarm”.
Zulum noted that a contractor had recently raised concern over rising water levels, prompting immediate government intervention.
While commending the contractor for the progress of work and monitoring of the water level, he said, “I would also advise that we be very careful; let us try to be on the safer side, considering the current global warming,”.
Responding to a brief by the contractor, Zulum inclined to a need for an extension of the work, saying, “We, therefore, need the extension you have talked about because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow,”
The extension is an added structure aimed at containing excess water to avert flooding.
“Our team of engineers and your own should put heads together and come up with workable recommendations to ensure that what happened before (September 2024 flood) is not repeated,” he added.
Recall that the federal government had allocated N80 billion for the reconstruction of the collapsed structures and addition of other structures at the Alau Dam in March.