The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has called on Nigerians to be calm over the release of excess water from Lagdo dam, which is located on River Benue in the Republic of Cameroon.
The agency while allaying the fear of however hinted that it is working with critical stakeholders at the Federal, States and Local governments to ensure that the release do not cause much negative impacts on the low-lying communities along the states that would be affected.
Its Head of Press, Manzo Ezekiel in statement issued on Monday noted that states on the downstream of River Benue including; Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States are likely toe be impacted.
It noted that it envisaged this release of excess water from the Lagdo dam, even as it as it advised stakeholders to take note of the likely impacts and considered in the preparations for mitigation and response to the 2023 flood alert.
Ezekiel noted: “Information available from the flow level of River Benue at Nigerian Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) gauging station in Makurdi stood at 8.97 meters as of August 25th, 2023, compared to 8.80 meters on the same date in 2022.
“In contrast, NIHSA has also provided that the flow level of the River Niger system, specifically at Niamey, Niger Republic, remains stable at a normal level of 4.30 meters. Similarly, inland dams including Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro reported consistent flow regimes.
“With regards to the hydrological station downstream the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers in Lokoja, Kogi State, are currently within normal limits. The downstream monitoring station, however, registered a flow level of 7.80 meters on August 25th, 2023, compared to 8.24 meters on the same date in 2022.”